


The Boy Next Door

by Camphalfgalra



Series: Kidge Neighbor AU [1]
Category: Voltron:Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Arguing, Bisexual Character, Chaos, Established shallura, F/F, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Friends to Lovers, Keith Is Crushing Harder Than a 12 Year Old Girl, Lotor Is Manipulative, Matchmaker Lance, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Neighbor au, Pining Keith (Voltron), Relationship Problems, pining pidge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 22:59:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 39
Words: 259,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11195241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Camphalfgalra/pseuds/Camphalfgalra
Summary: For as long as Katie “Pidge” Holt could remember, the house next door had been occupied by an old lady. At the age of five she found herself with new neighbors that lived next door, two parents with two boys. What caught her eye was the youngest boy, his behavior captivating her at the age of 5 all the way until her high school years. But even after all those years of forming a friendship with Keith, their friendship is going to be put to the ultimate test when a not so nice boy with not so great intentions gets between their relationship and things spiral out of control quickly.Senior year of high school, dealing with her neighbor and feelings was going to be the death of her.





	1. Prologue

For as long as Pidge could remember, old Mrs. Marilyn had lived next door. 

Well, for six years anyways. 

Mrs. Marilyn was a nice lady, she had a garden full of daisies that she would tend to everyday. She would also have tea around noon, always inviting Pidge and her older brother Matt over. Matt, being the sweet but secretly annoying person he was, always tried to act like he didn't want to bother her. Pidge knew better than that, she knew that he adored the cakes she made that were freshly out of the oven. 

She was very friendly towards the Holt family, never once having a complain about the two children. She didn't even complain when Gunter, their new puppy, had managed to dig up some of her daisies. She had laughed it off and told them that she was planning on fixing her garden anyways.

Needless to say, when she moved away Pidge was very disappointed. At first she had only liked the old lady because she made mean peanut butter cookies, but then she had become used to hearing a greeting every time she passed by the house and had grown to appreciate her elderly neighbor. 

Matt was upset when he learned that she had moved away, sulking alongside Pidge as they watch the moving men finish taking out everything that belonged to old Mrs. Marilyn.

The house stood empty for about two months, with families and sometimes single couples visiting the home. Pidge would glare at them from her bedroom window which faced a room in her neighbors house, sometimes scaring the people that would walk into the room only to see a small child glaring back at them from the house next door. 

As a result, the house wasn't sold for many months. 

Suddenly, there were no more visits. No more people touring the house. 

Pidge was pleased, believing that she had scared off the people trying to take her neighbor's home. That is, until a moving truck pulled up to the front of the house one sunny July morning. 

She screamed, making Matt rush into her room. "Katie?!"

"WHO'S THAT?"

He looked towards the direction where her finger was pointing before he grinned. "Sweet, the new neighbors are here! C'mon Katie!"

The mentioned girl only glared as Matt walked down the stairs, grudgingly putting on a pair of shoes before walking out in her pajamas. 

She squinted, trying to get a better view from behind the bushes before Matt rolled his eyes and pulled her up by the arm. "Hey!"

"You don't have to hide behind a bush, Katie. They're not gonna bite."

"What if they're vampires that are gonna suck our blood while we sleep?"

Matt laughed. "As if! We have enough garlic to ward them off, so don't worry. Come on, I think there's someone my age!"

He pulled her along, the five year old girl groaning at having to meet the new neighbors.  
They skid to a halt as two boys got out of a car, the tallest one immediately spotting them before he waved at them, a smile on his face.

What caught Pidge's attention was the boy next to him. He was shorter, obviously the youngest out of the two. 

She pouted. Why couldn't there be any girls? She was stuck with two new boys as her neighbors.

The shortest one raised his brow, looking at her with a tilted head. The first words he said would always resound in her heart.

"You're so short!"


	2. Keith and His Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Neighbor

At the mere age of five, Keith knew that he was different from the other kids. 

For one, he preferred to sit inside during lunch and play alone. He didn't like big crowds, and would often cry if he was forced to participate. Not that he'd admit to it later on. 

That led him to having issues with properly communicating with people, often being too blunt. He always denied it, though. The only person he ever really communicated with was Shiro and his parents. He didn't see the need for 'friends', as Shiro would put it. 

So that's how he ended up in the situation of accidentally insulting his new neighbor a few seconds after have meeting her. 

"You're so short!"

She had glared and kicked his leg hard before stomping back towards her house, the three boys watching her go. 

Right there and then, he decided he would never be friends with her. 

Well the joke was on him because as soon as the school year started in September, he was introduced to the class and was disappointed with the fact that he had to share a class with her for a year. The other wasn't pleased either, begging her parents to change her class. 

"But Katie, he's your neighbor. You have to be nice! Wouldn't it be nice to have a friend?"

"No!"

The fight would continue with Keith asking Shiro over and over again to help him fake sick and stay home to not see Katie, to which the 11 year old would only respond with, 'Running away from your problems isn't going to help you solve the problems.' As a result, Keith would ignore him for an hour before breaking and demanding help again. 

The two older brothers were exasperated, why couldn't the two be friends like they were?

Shiro and Matt were also placed in the same class for sixth grade, the two pleased with the result. The two younger siblings continued to bother each other, though.

It would start from a look of disgust that either Keith or Katie would shoot the other before it escalated into insults. 

"Stop looking at me you creep."

"Stop talking to me you jerk."

"You started it by looking at me!"

"No, you started it by starting a conversation about me doing nothing!"

The teacher was at her wits end with these two, seriously she couldn't try and teach a lesson before Keith would pull Katie's hair or she'd attempt to cut his bowl cut shorter with scissors -'no Katie it's not acceptable to cut your classmates hair'- that she had found thrown on the floor. 

"Stop pulling my hair!"

"It's not my fault it looks so dumb! You look like a lettuce head!"

It escalated from petty words to pencil breaking and crayon throwing, the victim getting revenge in the best way they could. It was amusing for their classmates, but for the teachers it was hell. 

And so the fights went on, and if the teacher would look back on that in the future she would most definitely say that that first grade class she taught was the most tiring one in her entire career. 

It wasn't until May when the two got into some serious hot water for actually starting a fight in the school yard, two teachers having to separate Pidge and Keith from basically each other's throats. 

Colleen Holt ran into the office, her husband and Keith's parents right behind her. As soon as she entered the office, she spotted Keith and Katie sitting on the opposite sides of the bench, clearly looking anywhere but each other. 

Katie spotted her mom and made an 'eep' noise before hugging her knees to her chest, burying her head in them. 

Keith snorted and was about to poke fun at her actions before his eyes widened at the sight of his mother standing next to Katie's. She looked so calm, and that's when Keith groaned and zipped his sweater up and put the hoodie up, scowling and crossing his arms. There was no way he was going to be able to watch tv when he got home. When Mama Kogane looked so calm after a call up to the principles office, it was never a good sign and that's how both of her children knew to never get on her bad side. 

The consequences were always big if she got called up to the school. 

Both Papa Holt and Papa Kogane only sighed, it was only time before they got called up for a fight. In all honesty, they were surprised that the kids had made it this far into the school year before starting an actual fight. 

"Miss Holt, Miss Kogane. Please take a seat."  
The two mothers nodded while Colleen threw a pointed look at Katie, who seemed to shrink more and curl her arms around herself tighter. 

The principle sighed, wearily eyeing the two children on the bench. "Children, please come forth."

Katie and Keith sighed before glaring at each other and getting up, walking towards their respective mothers. 

Colleen frowned at her daughter, who just crossed her arms and sat in a chair in the middle of her parents. Keith also sat between his parents, who sighed and glanced at him before looking back up at the principal. 

"I'm assuming you know the reasons why you all of you were called up here?"

All four parents nodded and Keith just crossed his arms and stared down at his shoes. 

The principal sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Katie and Keith got into a scuffle in the schoolyard during lunch, and they did not stop once they were asked to stop. The motives, we know not of, but we were hoping that perhaps you could ask your children for us what happened so we can assess the situation better."

Colleen and Sam nodded, both looking expectantly at their daughter who merely scowled. "Katie, what started it?"

"Keith started it."

"I did not!"

"Do too! You started calling me a nerd!"

"That was only after you called me stupid for saying that Mothman was better than Bigfoot!"

"BECAUSE MOTHMAN ISN'T BETTER THAN BIGFOOT YOU IDIOT!"

The adults were confused, Papa Kogane coughing to try and stifle his laughter over the children's motives for fighting. He was quickly silenced by a poke in the ribs from his wife, who was looking at the two bickering children in confusion. 

"YOU STARTED IT BY SUDDENLY TRYING TO ACT NICE IN CLASS BUT KICKING ME AS SOON AS WE GOT OUT!"

"I WOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT IF YOU HADN'T LAUGHED WHEN SOMEONE CALLED ME SHORT!"

"BUT YOU ARE SHORT!"

"NOT SHORTER THAN MY PATIENCE WITH YOU!"

"OOH BIG WORDS I'M SO SCARED."

"THATS IT!"

Katie snarled and tried to leap over Colleen's lap at Keith, who hissed like a cat before he was back by his father. Sam immediately leapt to hold Katie in his arms, the girl hissing and trying to scratch Keith with her hands. 

The principle raised a brow at their antics, sighing and wearily placing her hands on her head. "You two children need to understand that arguing and fighting isn't going to help you solve your problems. You must find a way to solve your problems and not physically fight over them because you two are capable of hurting the others around you. Do you understand?"

The two dropped their heads in shame and meekly nodded. "Yes ma'am."

She sighed. "Good. You two are to return to class, but I want you to work out your problems as soon as you get home." Looking up at their parents she smiled lightly. "Please make sure that they work their issues out."

"Of course." "Absolutely."

Keith and Katie were both ushered out of the room by their parents and with a disapproving glare, they walked down to their classroom in silence. 

"Yunno you're really annoying."

Keith snorted. "You are too, but times ten. Just like I'm ten times taller than you."

Katie gasped and glared at him, tripping him before she ran away towards their classroom while cackling. Keith scowled, getting up and running after her. 

Needless to say, the teasing immediately went down a notch during the remaining week. 

Their teacher was pleased with the occasional snarky reply the two gave each other, their classmates upset with the lack of drama. 

Keith -like he suspected- got his tv privileges taken away and Katie also got her tv privileges taken away. That didn't bother her that much, what bothered her most was that Matt frowned when he heard what had happened. Keith was also mostly bothered by the lack of response he got from Shiro, who just shook his head sadly after hearing the news. 

Everything was normal, -well as normal as it could be with Keith and Katie- until it wasn't. 

It started people started whispering about Katie and how she took forever to do things.   
Keith had never really noticed it or he had gotten used to her speed, but upon hearing the rumors he frowned. 

He observed as she washed her hands, and how she silently counted. The other kids would snicker at how she took so long, impatiently tapping their feet as she counted exactly 60 seconds per hand. 

Sure, Keith didn't like her per say, but the only thing he didn't like more than her was how the others made fun of her need to specifically count to sixty seconds for each hand. 

So he took matters into his own hands and stood up and walked towards the sink when she started washing her hands. 

She heard the snickers behind her and she lost count, tears starting to find their way to her eyes. It wasn't her fault that she felt the need to wash her hands in a specific time frame. 

She was shocked by Keith standing next to her, who calmly started counting. 

"One, two, three, four..."

He continued and she looked at him, dumbfounded before he reached sixth and started counting from one again for her to wash her right hand. 

Once he reached sixty, she allowed herself to look at him and saw that he was looking at her with a bored expression. 

"Why'd you do that?"

He shrugged. "I don't like people other than me laughing at you."

She snorted and dried her hands on her pants before walking towards her table, Keith walking next to her. 

"...Keith?"

He turned to look at her, a brow raised. "Yeah?"

She shyly looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks for helping me."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she blushed and scowled. "But I still hate you!"

Keith, who was surprised, quickly covered it up with a scowl. "I only helped you because I felt sorry, but I still hate you!"

The two turned around, walking away from each other while secretly smiling. Katie sat down, quickly pulling her notebook out while allowing herself to grin. Maybe Keith wasn't so bad. 

Keith sat down at his desk, quickly taking a pencil out and his notebook before taking a peek at Katie. She was smiling, and he allowed a smile to appear in his face. Maybe, just maybe, Katie wasn't so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guyssss I'm going to try and update this story every Saturday, so stay tuned for updates every Saturday! Also, MY TWO CHILDREN ARE FINALLY STARTING TO GET ALONG! (Sort of.) I hope y'all enjoyed it!


	3. Growth

As the year passed by, Keith and Katie learned how to live with each other and not be at each other's throats constantly. 

They left first grade with a newfound attitude about the other, wondering if there was more to their neighbor. Summer grade was when their friendship really started to grow, specifically the summer after first grade. 

On a sunny Sunday July morning, Katie found herself in the treehouse in her yard, curled up and pouting. She heard someone scrambling up the tree and she tensed, waiting for Matt's head to pop up and keep teasing her. 

Instead she saw Keith there, a frown on his face as he stared quizzically at the girl in front of him. "What are you doing in a tree?"

Katie scowled. "I'm sitting in it."

Keith rolled his eyes, his brows creasing as he raised one annoyance. "Yeah, but why?"

"Because I can. Now go away."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't wanna go."

Katie groaned, obviously frustrated with her nosy neighbor. "Don't you have something better to do? Or did you come here to tease me like my brother?"

Keith raised a brow. "Tease you? I only do that during school. What did your brother say to you?"

Katie shrugged. "It's not really that important, yunno."

Keith pouted. "It is if you're gonna be a sissy and run up a tree for it. What did he say?"

Katie frowned before wrapping her arms around herself. "He kept calling me Pigeon. I don't even know why!"

Keith snorted and tried to hide the grin that was taking place on his features, but failing miserably. "That doesn't seem so bad."

Katie frowned. "I told him to stop but he called me a crybaby and kept calling me it."

Keith turned to look back at Katie's house, where he spotted Matt in the pool with Shiro, Sam, who had invited the Kogane's over for a barbecue, was standing at the grill with Keith's dad and his mother was talking to Katie's mom. 

He then turned to look at Katie, his lips curling upwards into a smirk. "Wanna get back at him?"

Katie perked up before raising a brow in suspicion. "Why are you helping me? I thought you hated me."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Yeah but both of our brothers are annoying, and wouldn't it be nice to get back at them for all the bullying they do?"

Katie pondered over this, weighing her options. She could accept Keith's request to help her get back at Matt and laugh at him when he saw what happened, or she could ignore Keith and hate him like she always did. 

She chose the first option because, really, who didn't like getting back at their annoying older siblings?

"So are you in?"

Keith looked at her with uncertainty, Katie shrugging before nodding, Keith perking up at her affirmative. He quickly climbed down the treehouse stairs, Katie following close behind him.

They reached the soft grass and Katie placed a hand on her hip, looking at Keith expectantly. 

"Well? What are we gonna do?"

Keith grinned. "Does your brother like spicy stuff?"

"No."

"My brother doesn't either."

She quickly caught in and smirked, Keith smirking too before the duo ran off to the kitchen. They were two kids on a mission.>/p<

* * *

After splashing in the pool for a while, the food was ready and Sam called the children out to eat. 

Matt and Shiro emerged from the pool, the latter shaking his hair and spraying everyone with the water trapped in his unruly locks.  
Colleen and Aiko, Keith's mom, were setting the table with plates and forks. 

Sam laughed as his son got everyone wet, Katie making a face from the doorframe while Keith shook his head in an adorable disapproving action. 

"Katie, Keith, could you two get the sauces for the food?"

Katie grinned mischievously and Keith smirked, the two nodding as they rushed inside the house. Sam looked at Colleen, who stared at the two children in confusion before he shrugged their actions off. It was nice of them to finally be getting along. 

The two emerged from the house with the ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard bottles in their arms. Katie placed the bottles strategically down on the table, the ketchup bottle closest to Matt. 

Keith grinned as she did so, watching as Shiro sat down next to Matt, the two boys talking vividly about some tv show. 

The burger patties were placed on the table along with the sausages for the hotdogs, and everyone started eating. 

Katie and Keith took slow bites, watching excitedly as Matt made a hot dog, placing the ketchup strategically over the sausage. 

"Here Shiro." He passed the 'ketchup' to Shiro, who happily took it and spread it on his hot dog. The two boys took a bite, smiling before their faces contorted into that of a person who had seen a ghost.

They immediately swallowed the food, sticking their tongues out and fanning it with their hands. Matt screamed and ran around, running into the pool and dunking his mouth into the water. Shiro immediately followed him, the two boys coughing as they came up from the water. 

All the adults stared at them in concern and confusion before Keith and Katie burst out laughing, clutching their sides with tears coming out the sides of their eyes. 

Katie grinned and stood up on her chair, a smug grin etched on her features. "THATS WHAT YOU GET MATT!"

Keith cackled, giving her a high five as they kept laughing, Katie leaning over Keith for support. 

Matt, Shiro and their parents stared at the two in confusion before laughing at the situation. Matt and Shiro looked at each other and shrugged, smiling fondly at their two laughing siblings who weren't fighting. If it took them a prank to bond and not fight, it was worth it.

  
As the years progressed, so did Keith and Katie's friendship. They went from 'just being able to stand each other' to 'hey let me hop from my roof onto yours at night' friendly in a span of six years.

They met Lance and Hunk at the beginning of sixth grade, the group becoming close through the entire school year. Lance believed he and Keith were rivals of some sort, thus leading them to argue a shit load and being sent to the nurses room after both decided to see who was the fastest at running over the tops of the jungle gym. Keith had a broken arm and Lance had a sprained ankle, but the both didn't care until Katie visited them and pulled their ears, yelling at them for being reckless before smirking and declaring that Keith was the winner. 

At age 11, Keith was there when she had her first crisis: her period came during school. 

He remembered her embarrassed flush as she explained what happened, but Keith didn't even blink twice before he gave her his jacket to tie around her waist. He had grown accustomed to her complaining about her period, to the point where he didn't even find it weird when she told him what happened. The two were very close, after all. 

He was also there during the drama, the drama of Lance calling her 'Pigeon,' that is. He found out Matt called her Pigeon after a sleepover at her house, prompting him to tease her relentlessly. 

_"There's our favorite Pigeon!"  
"Lance if you don't shut up you're going to end up like Keith last year. Broken arm."_

She slowly eased into the nickname though after Keith started calling her Pidge as an alternative to Pigeon. 

They also started hanging out with Shiro more, despite the age gap of four years. They, along with Matt, teased him relentlessly over his crush on Allura. She was a girl on the cheer team, a sophomore like him. 

The group was there through the highs and lows, helping each other out through everything. But it wasn't until their first year of high school that Pidge really started to wonder, 'who exactly is Keith Kogane?'

The answer wasn't clear until their last year of high school, after all the drama that happened through their four years of high school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's your new chapter of The Boy Next Door! Next chapter starts with the gang beginning high school, which is when the story really begins. Hope you enjoyed it!


	4. Welcome Back To Your Last Year In Hell

Senior year of high school was the year when Pidge started questioning what she knew of her neighbor, the one and only Keith Kogane. It was also the year where major shit went down and when she got her answer as to who he really was. 

He had grown quieter over the summer, and she wasn't going to lie, he was also growing to be very attractive. His previously chubby cheeks had lost their chubbiness and his bowl cut was completely gone, replaced by a mop of black hair that Lance liked to call 'a mullet' ever since he started growing it out sophomore year. 

"He has legendary bed head," she remembered telling Lance once. 

His love for music was still there, and she couldn't even begin to count the endless nights that she had spent listening to him playing the Hamilton soundtrack on his piano and violin over the past three years. 

He had also grown into some 'edgy' music, as Lance and Shiro had both put it. Imagine her surprise when she awoke to hearing My Chemical Romance blasting through the open window next door, only to burst out laughing and almost cracking her head open when she realized Keith was pretending to play guitar while shaking his head manically as Bohemian Rhapsody played on his shuffle. 

The summer days had passed quickly with endless late night trips to the park with their friend group, leading into the first day of their last year high school at Altea High, the high school where Shiro and Matt had both gone to.   
Keith eyed the building wearily, crossing his arms while shaking his head. 

"Ah yes, hell. I always imagined how it looked. Didn't imagine it to be this shiny though."

Pidge snorted as she took one earbud out of her ear, stepping out of his car as she did so. 

"Last year. Please pass by fast, I want high school to be over. All the popular people drive me crazy."

"The only popular person you need to worry about is me." Lance winked as he walked up to them, backpack slung lazily over his left shoulder as Hunk gave them a smile. 

"Hey guys."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Yeah sure. This is Altea High, they have high expectations based on what Shiro told me the first year we got here. How'd you even pass the exam to get in? Also, hi Hunk," he finished with a smile. 

Lance scoffed before giving him a teasing smirk. "Afraid I'll be smarter than you?"

Keith scowled, rolling his eyes as he turned away from the slightly taller Cuban boy. "No because the amount of information in your brain could be stored in a paper airplane."

Pidge snorted, smirking before giving Keith a high five to which he gladly obliged to as a smirk took over his features. 

Lance grinned at seeing Pidge, running at her before she could react as he hugged her. "If it isn't our little Pidge! Look at you, I go away for a month in Cuba and you're still so short!"

Pidge sighed exasperatedly, playfully pouting and looking at Keith for help. Said boy just shrugged and took a sip from his coffee, causing Pidge to sputter and mumble a 'fuck you' aimed at him. 

She sighed again, playfully pushing his head away from him while glaring at him playfully. "Hey, I'm still mad at you for losing our streak. Who loses a streak at 130 days?!"

Lance grinned sheepishly, letting her go and rubbing his neck. "Yeah, sorry about that. But I'm back now and I promise we won't lose it!"

They all laughed at that, knowing fully well that he would indeed lose all his streaks again before they walked inside, a new air around them as the familiarity of the school enveloped them. 

The past three years hasn't been the kindest to them, that was for sure. Keith and Lance had a major falling out after they didn't complete various projects in time, leaving them with zeros averaged into their grade. Keith had blamed Lance, and the two were basically enemies for about two months before Pidge and Hunk took action to save their friendship. 

It worked, and the two slowly fell back into their old selves when they bickered about little things. 

Puberty had also been uh, not kind to Pidge in her opinion. 

She had stayed the shortest in their friend group throughout those three years, Lance eventually passing Hunk. Keith was pissed, obviously because he was the shortest male but secretly happy that he wasn't the shortest in the group. 

Hunk had also gone through some tough three years, people whispering about his 'too happy attitude' and his weight. This was put to a stop by Pidge who had proudly attacked a particularly nasty bully and made them regret all the nasty shit he had said about Hunk.   
Needless to say, no one dared to mess with her or their friend group ever again. 

Lance grew taller and more attractive, he was constantly around girls and shooting them winks. He was the school's soccer team captain, a popular boy. But junior year was tough on him due to the passing of his grandpa, who he loved dearly. The gang, including Shiro, all supported him trough his morning and helped him get through it and he rose. He rose and within two and a half months was back to his normal self. 

Keith had lost interest in soccer the moment Lance had revealed that he was captain of the soccer team, opting to go for the archery classes. He was kicked out a while later, Pidge laughing at the memory of him almost stabbing a teacher with his arrow. He later got into knives and she vividly remembered when he tried to aim at a tree, not expecting it to hit the precise target before he realized it had gone through the tree and lodged itself on the back of her backyard's fence. 

That was something that Lance would always remember, peeking through the hole the knife had created. The tree that held the treehouse was always used as target practice. 

They grew up in various ways, all sticking together even through the drama. It was weird, said Matt, but they had a bond that was so tight and the four were all close friends. But Pidge felt that she didn't know everything about Keith and she was determined to figure out what defined him.

Said boy snapped her out of her thoughts, Lance giving her an amused look as she stared at the door that slowly opened. 

Keith frowned and Pidge groaned, Lance grinning as he pulled Hunk along. 

"Guys it's our last year, try and look a little more excited!"

Keith rolled his eyes, scowling. "I'll be excited once I get back home and sleep. Waking up at six for this isn't worth it."

Hunk sighed, giving Pidge and Keith a look over. "Is Pidge wearing your beanie?"

Pidge glanced up and shrugged, Keith repeating the action. "Yeah? She likes it. So we agreed that we each have a turn with it."

Lance clicked his tongue, waggling his brows as a knowing smile spread on his face. "That's kinda cute. Keith, you actually thought of her feelings for once!"

Pidge snorted and hit his elbow, the four walking up to main entrance cracking jokes as Keith stood next to Pidge, a grin finding its way to his face as soon as she started calling out 'the hoes of Altea High'. 

At the sight of other students, Keith groaned internally. They were all the same ones as last year, just with shorter dresses for the girls and shorter hair. 

Except, looking more closely, there was something about this years students that was off. 

Pidge nudged him and pulled him down to her level, eyeing the group at the end of her the hallway. "Keith, do you see that?"

Keith nodded, his brows furrowing. "I see it."  
Lance scrambled to get a better view, gasping when he saw who it was and Hunk frowned.  
"Is that Lotor with his bleached hair?"

Hunk raised a brow. "You seriously only noticed that and not the other guys around him?"

Lance shrugged. "I tend to notice the uglier things first. But yeah, I do see the other dudes around him. Ugh, is white really that much of a popular color for hair? It looks stupid."

Pidge snorted, adjusting her glasses to see their faces better. "They weren't here last year, right?"

Hunk nodded, Keith furrowing his brows pensively as Lotor talked to the others around him. 

There were about five others around him, Lotor making wild hand gestures while flipping his hair over his shoulder various times. They all had some amount of muscle on them, and leather jackets with bleached hair. It was kinda gross, like Lance had put it before, but there was also something else bothering him. 

He shook those thoughts from his head and stood back up, Pidge eyeing him. "Analysis?"

Keith shrugged. "They're weird, but not doing anything. Let's not get mixed up with them now though, we have class. And Shiro would kill me if he found out I broke someone else again on the first day and got suspended again."

Hunk chewed on his bottom lip, eyes giving Lotor's gang a side glance. "They give me bad vibes, man. Like some really bad vibes."

Pidge looked up at Keith, and he sighed. "I know, but we have class so we better go."

Pidge then smirked, giving him that smug look. "You sound like an adult. You've been spending too much time with Shiro."

He scoffed and stared walking away, the others laughing and following him. He allowed himself to laugh, but not before he turned back to catch a glimpse at Lotor. 

Lotor looked straight at him, his gang also looking at the others retreating backs and he felt a shiver go down his spine. 

Something told him this was going to be one hell of a year at Altea High.


	5. Spill The Tea, Keith

Pidge eyed Keith from her window, observing him as he did his calculus homework with a frown on his face. 

About three weeks had passed since the first day, and he had been...off. 

He shrugged it off and bickered with Lance like he usually did, but his eyes would search around wildly as if he was afraid that something was going to pop out if nowhere.  
Pidge decided that enough was enough, and she was going to talk to Keith today. 

She rummaged through her drawer and found a rock pile that she had for these occasions, picking a medium sized one before throwing it at his window that was opened. 

He didn't even flinch or try to look at her, making her scowl. Again she grabbed another rock and aimed it at him now, repeatedly throwing multiple rocks at his brain. 

She scowled before realizing that he had earbuds in, and she slyly smirked as an idea formed in her brain. 

She quickly pulled out her phone before opening her Spotify, shuffling through the most recent hits and smirked as she saw what she needed. Keith had been rambling about how much he hated this song, and hooking he phone up to her Bluetooth speaker she turned it up to full volume. She knew Keith wasn't going to be able to ignore this song. 

_'I need somebody with some patience,'_

She grinned as she saw him abruptly stop writing and look around, his brows furrowed. 

_'Cause you know I got a temperament'_

"PIDGE SHUT THAT FUCKING UNHOLY TRASHY POP MUSIC OFF!"

Pidge cackled as Keith slammed his hands on his windowsill, glaring at her through his messy bangs. 

"You don't even go to church to call it 'unholy', Keith."

"It doesn't matter Pidge, that song is trash. I can't believe you would betray me like this. We agreed that you wouldn't play it again!"

Pidge snorted and shut the song off, crossing her arms and looking at him with a smug look. "I took desperate measures."  
Her expression turned into a serious one, arms crossed and a frown on her face. 

"I need to talk to you."

Keith raised a brow, fully taking his earbuds out of his ears upon hearing the seriousness in her voice. 

"Yeah?"

She sat on her bed, which was conveniently on its side so she could sit comfortably, her glasses sliding down her nose as she gave him a look. 

"What's up with you and being more edgy lately?"

Keith propped his elbows up on his windowsill, raising a brow. "Isn't it better if you just to come over?"

Pidge made a face, dismissing the thought with a wave of her wrist. "No Keith. The last time we tried that was two years ago when I almost broke my leg after attempting to jump through your window."

Keith pursed his lips at the thought, glaring at the floor. "You're right. Well, just come closer I can't hear you."

Pidge sighed loudly and grudgingly got up, sitting on the window seat across from Keith. "Are you happy Sir Grumps?"

Keith flicked a piece of paper at her and she evaded it, grinning as she threw another rock that hit his arm successfully. "Success!"

She started laughing, doubling over at his offended expression. Keith scoffed but gave her a fond smile, and Pidge froze as she saw that smile. 

_Your damn, pretty smile. What the fuck._

She shook her thoughts from her head, crossing her arms as she stared at him. "You didn't answer my question Keith."

"What was the question? I couldn't hear you."

"Do you need me to call you even if we are literally less than five feet away from each other? Boy, you're getting more more deafer than I thought!"

He rolled his eyes, putting a hand on his hip. "If you're done, I have homework to do."

Pidge stopped giggling and shook her head, motioning for him to sit. He did so, and she continued talking. 

"Like I was saying, what's up with you and your edginess? You've been...jumpy since the first day of school. It's been like three weeks, dude. What gives?"

Keith stopped rolling a penny on his windowsill as she asked 'what gives', the penny falling off the edge. 

"Shit that was my last penny!"

"Keith you literally have a bank account."

"You never know when you're going to need a penny."

Pidge rolled her eyes, obviously amused before tapping the windowsill impatiently. "Well? What's your answer, alien boy? Why are you so shaken and scared every time we're at school?"

Keith sighed and looked to the side, crossing his arms. "Lotor is just really sketchy, okay? You don't know him because you didn't head off to camp the summer of freshman year, but he was there and he's so...he's just really sketchy. It feels weird having him watch you when you walk, and when he catches you looking he just smirks and winks and it's honestly so disgusting."

Pidge raised a brow, watching Keith not look at her. 

"What do you mean by sketchy?"

"He's just weird. He's always watching, he always knows where we are because he's always there, Katie. He's watching us, he started to the first week we were there and he's sort of backed off but his goons are always at every corner of the school. They're always there, watching. I'm paranoid because at first I was like, 'okay they're going to fuck off within a week' but then one was in the bathroom when Lance was in there. Hunk says he doesn't want to walk the halls alone because he always feels like he's being watched. There's something weird going on at Altea High, and I don't like it."

Pidge gaped at him, eyes wide and mouth open in surprise. "That's not what I expected."

He looked up at her, the moon reflected in his eyes. "What did you expect?"

Pidge shrugged, giving him a teasing smile. "That maybe you were distracted because of some girl or guy you met? I don't know, I just thought it had something to do with a crush."

Keith scoffed, slowly giving her a small smile. "I'm not Lance, Pidge. I have more important things to do than worry about having a girlfriend."

Pidge shrugged. "Eh, same. But I would be lying if I haven't had a crush on a few people. There was that dark time when I liked Lance, before realizing that it was just wrong. Then I liked Hunk, but he's been infatuated with Shay since sophomore year."

She looked up to see a funny look on his face, his expression giving the impression that he had a major revelation. 

"You liked something other than your computer?"

Pidge gave him an indignant look, which then turned into a smug smile. "You really want me to bring up your crush on a certain blue boy?"

Keith's eyes widened, his cheeks flushing.  
"That was two years ago!"

Pidge cackled, standing up and dramatically clasping her hands on her heart. "Oh Lance! Yes Lance, I totally love you! Oh my Lance, put your skinny chicken arms around me! Lance, save me from the terror of Katie Holt, my amazing demon neighbor!"

He gave her an unimpressed look as she cackled, continuing her little act. 

"Oh look, it's Lance! He smells like coconuts, oh my! Yes come here with those beautiful blue eyes! I'm going to pretend that I can't stand you because I like you! Wait no, I love you! Oh Lanceeeee!"

He crossed his arms, trying to fight the smile growing on his face. "Didn't you just say you liked him? I didn't know you felt that way about Lance, your dramatic little 'show' just showed me how much you liked him."

He gave her a smug look, Pidge shaking her finger while still standing on the window seat. "No no Keith, don't turn the tables. Let's not forget that moment when you were so infatuated with him that you wanted to run your fingers through his hair. Now that was hilarious!"

Keith rolled his eyes, looking to the side. "If you're done bullying me, I'd like to finish my calculus homework before midnight."

Pidge snorted and waved him off, relaxing on the window seat. "Oh yeah about that, what did you get for number four on the worksheet?"

"I was doing that one when you interrupted me."

"Keith you are literally an A student, it shouldn't take you that long to do a few calculus questions."

He gave her a look, his mouth in a straight line. "Pidge, not all of us have an assured entrance into Altea University or Harvard."

She scoffed, crossing her arms. "Who says I want to go there anyways? Just do your homework, you emo."

"I'm not emo."  
"And Lance is straight, don't lie. Shoo!"

He gave a sigh before crossing back to his desk, Pidge smirking before her look melted into a serious one. "Oh, and Keith?"

He looked at her, one brow raised. "Yeah?"

She gave him an assuring smile, putting a hand on her hip. "Lotor isn't going to do anything to us, don't be so worried. Sure he's sketchy, but if he tries to mess with us we will kick his ass."

She smashed her open palm with her fist, Keith chuckling as she did so.  
"Thanks for listening."

She nodded, before standing on the floor and gagging. "Now shoo, this is getting sappy."  
He snorted and went back to his homework, not noticing the little smile she gave him as he turned around.

* * *

The next day at school, Pidge found herself more on edge than usual. Probably had something to do with Keith and what he had said about Lotor last night.

She looked around the hallways before passing through them and sure enough, she saw one of Lotor's goons at the edge of the hall. 

Lance noticed him too and raised a brow, edging closer to Hunk. "Uh, is it me or is that guy looking straight at us?" 

Hunk took a quick glance at Lotor's goon before he gulped, turning back to Lance. "He's looking over here. But why?"

Keith frowned, Pidge turning to look at him at seeing how he was suddenly walking so much slower. "Keith?"

"Sendak. He's one of Lotor's main goons, second in command basically."

Lance crossed his arms across his chest, the group taking an alternative route to the cafeteria. "That doesn't answer the question, mullet. And how do you know their names anyway?"

Pidge rolled her eyes, adjusting her glasses as she continued walking while not sparing Sendak a second glance. "He knows because he's been paranoid ever since they showed up to the school. Says there's something 'sketchy' about them...not that I disagree, because I agree."

Keith shot her a thankful look, the girl giving him a quick smile before they entered the cafeteria. 

Hunk sat down first, tapping the table nervously. "I agree, I think they're very sketchy. What if we, I don't know, tell Principle Alfor?"

Lance shook his head, taking out one of his notebooks. "Nah, as long as they're not doing anything there's nothing to tell."

Pidge nodded in agreement, her eyes glancing around as she noticed more of the group filtering in. 

She shoved Keith in the ribs, to which he responded to by scowling and hissing, "Pidge what the hell?"

She shut him up by placing a finger on his lips, turning his face with her other hand to watch Lotor and his gang sit in the smack center of the cafeteria. They were speaking in hushed voices, heads ducked low as they huddled in a tight circle. 

Keith frowned, eyeing them suspiciously. They each wore a black jacket on them, the words 'Galra' clearly printed on the back of said jackets. 

"What's a 'Galra'?" Lance asked while tilting his head, Hunk mimicking his actions. 

Pidge glared at him, making the 'zip your lips' action before continuing to observe said 'Galra' gang. 

"Keith, isn't 'Galra' from that Galra Enterprises, who own Galra High a few blocks down?"

Keith nodded, looking at her. "Yeah, it is. But this is Altea High, not Galra High. That's...very sketchy, do you think they transferred here?"

Pidge shrugged and tore her gaze away from the gang, instead focusing on Keith. "If they did, they're planning something. Nobody just transfers from Galra High to Altea High, the high schools are rivals for fucks sake!"

Hunk frowned, scratching his head as he looked at the two. "Still think we shouldn't tell Principal Alfor?"

Keith shook his head, waving a hand. "No. If we did, they could come after us. That's how gangs work."

Pidge nodded in agreement, Lance giving Hunk a reassuring pat on his back. 

"Chillax Hunk, they probably won't do anything other than mess up our schools reputation of having attractive dudes on the football team. Now THATS the tragedy."

They all laughed, Keith included as he looked at Pidge, who was no longer focused on the Galra. 

Maybe he was being paranoid. After all, people had merchandise of things they liked, right? He allowed himself to ease up, giving a small chuckle at what Lance had said.

* * *

Everything went to hell as soon as they entered their English class.

"Lotor, you can sit next to Katie."

Keith immediately turned around to face her, watching her eyes widen. "He isn't in our English class, what the hell?"

Pidge frowned and walked towards her desk, Lotor following her and Keith felt almost creeped out at how he knew who Katie was without even having talked to her in the past three weeks.

Lance and Hunk caught his gaze, giving him weird looks and sitting down behind him. 

"Guess you're right Keith, Lotor really does stalk us if he knew who she was without asking her name."

"Keith?"

Hunk waved a hand in front Keith's face, Keith blinking and looking at him. "Oh, yeah?"

Hunk gave him a concerned look, frowning. "Are you okay? You seem off."

Keith frowned. "No. It's him."

Lance smirked, closing his eyes. "I see what's happening here. Keith has a crush on our little Pigeon!"

Keith flushed red, glaring at Lance. "Not true. I'm just concerned, she's like...a little sister to me. We've grown up by each other's side since we were five, Lance."

Lance scoffed waving him off. "Sure, whatever let's you sleep easier at night. It's a fact, you have a crush on her."

Hunk smiled sheepishly, shrugging as Keith gave him a look that screamed 'help me'.  
Keith groaned and shook his head, taking his binder out from his bag and placing it on the desk. 

"I'm saying it now, and I'm not going to repeat it. I, Keith Kogane, do not like Pidge. I have never liked her and I never will. Got it?"

Lance shook his head, shrugging. "Fine. But if she ends up with Lotor, because I'm pretty sure he's into her, don't be heartbroken."

Keith's scoffed before it all clicked, his eyes widening in realization when he turned to face Lotor. 

Lotor had only focused on him and Pidge every time that he was the one who saw the duo. Every single damn time. 

It sent a shiver down his spine as he watched her take notes, Lotor's eyes wandering and resting on her as a smirk played on his lips.  
Something inside his chest tightened and he frowned, willing his gaze to go back to his notebook. 

Lance snorted, eyeing Keith from behind him. "Jealousy, thy name is Keith," he said to Hunk who just shook his head and continued to take his notes after taking a quick glance at Keith. 

Keith frowned as he continued to take his notes, not once glancing at Pidge after having have heard Lance snort when he did so. 

But his thoughts kept drifting off to how Lotor looked at her, like a hungry wolf looking at a rabbit. 

She was not going to fall prey to Lotor's game, he knew it. So why the _absolute fuck_ was he still mad?


	6. The Trees Have Eyes

Pidge sighed and leaned against her locker, running a hand through her long hair. 

Today had been so stressful, especially English. Freaking Lotor had been placed as her partner, the shady kid was placed as her _partner._ Truth be told, if she had to choose between him and Lance, she would choose Lance any day. Lotor was that bad. 

Keith approached her and opened his locker which was conveniently next to hers, giving her a sympathetic smile. "Bad day?"

She groaned, taking her glasses off and sliding down her locker to sit on the floor. "Terrible."

Keith rummaged through his locker and produced peanut butter cookies, tossing them to her. "Here, eat it. I figured that you needed it."

She gasped delightedly and gave him an adoring smile before hungrily opening te bag, stuffing three cookies in her mouth at the same time. 

Hunk raised a brow as he approached them, Lance behind him and holding his bag in his left hand, holding a water bottle in the right one. 

"That both scares and amused me."

Lance snorted, waving the older boy off. "That's nothing. I've done better."

"That's because you've swallowed more cum shots than a prostitute, Lance. You have practice."

Keith choked on his water and spit it in Hunk's face, rapidly pounding on his chest while coughing as Pidge gave Lance a smug look. 

Lance gasped at her, mouth hanging open as Hunk tried to pat his back comfortingly before he snapped back to his senses and pointed an accusatory finger at her. "Oh yeah? You're just mad that I can get dates with both guys and girls, and you can't even get a date with one guy."

Pidge scoffed, standing up and patting Keith on the back to help him to stop coughing. "Dude, I choose not to go on dates. I could get them, but I decide to not have dates."

Keith stopped coughing, crossing his arms and giving Lance a look. "She can get dates. Well, more than you anyways."

"I'll have you know that I am Altea High's top football player, and I'm very popular with the ladies."

Pidge laughed, doubling over and wiping tears from her face. "Lance, did you just insinuate that you only like ladies?"

Lance shrugged, shifting the weight of his book bag on his shoulder. "I mean, some guys are cute."

Hunk gave him a sly smile and narrowed his eyes, jabbing Lance in the side. "Like K-"

Lance flushed red and smacked a hand over Hunk's mouth, dragging him away. "How about we head over to my house yeah? OKAY THANKS BYE PIDGE."

He practically stormed out of the hallway into the street, pulling Hunk along with him. Pidge and Keith gave each other confused glances before shrugging in sync and heading towards the entrance. 

"You know, Lotor smells like onions."

Keith looked down at her, a confused look on his face. "What the fuck?"

Pidge smirked and looked at him, arms crossed over her chest. "You heard me. He smells like onions, dude. Maybe Lance was onto something about his hair being all weave."

Keith rolled his eyes, grinning. "He's the prince of the weave with daddy issues."

Pidge laughed, her eyes twinkling in amusement. "With daddy issues? What the absolute fuck Keith?" 

Keith shrugged, pushing the door open for her to pass before he passed. "You learn a lot about a kid when you share a cabin with him during summer camp."

Pidge stepped into the fresh October breeze, her bangs flowing loosely in the wind like Keith's. "What do you mean, 'shared a cabin with him?' You knew Lotor?"

Keith gave her an incredulous look, walking down the stairs with Pidge following him, the leaves crunching under their feet. "Yeah. Remember that kid I told you who was dropped off in a limo and argued with his dad as he got out?"

"Oh! Whiny bratty boy, right?"

Keith nodded, turning the corner with Pidge at his heels. "Yeah, him. He also complained that there was no cell service the first two weeks before the camp director got mad at him and threw his phone into the lake."

Pidge snorted, pulling her jacket tighter around her. "Kudos to the camp director. Why the hell is it so cold? It's only five."

Keith shot her a concerned look, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. "You need my jacket?"

She scoffed, pulling her light sweater even more tighter around her. "No, I'm fine. We're only like ten minutes away from home anyways."

He shook his head, grasping her arm as she tried to walk away. She froze, a light blush dusting her face. "What?"

He pulled his jacket off and draped it over her shoulders, taking her book bag off and fixing it so he could carry it. He gave her a small smile before shrugging and walking forward, Pidge still frozen in place. 

"Nothing."

She found her mouth to be agape and quickly closed it, jogging to catch up with him. "Dude, I can carry my stuff."

Once again he shrugged, giving her a gentle smile. "Well I wanted to carry your stuff. Besides," he added with a teasing smirk, "you're short enough and this heavy ass book bag is only going to make you shorter."

She gasped indignantly and hit his arm lightly with her fist, causing him to laugh before swatting her fist away. 

"I can't believe you still bully me about my height when you're literally the shortest guy in our group."

He gave her a look, a pout on his face before closing his eyes and airily replying with, "At least I passed the five foot mark, Pidge."

She crossed her arms, looking up at him with narrowed eyes. "This is bullying. Done, screenshot, sent to my lawyer. Expect the bill in two weeks."

"What screenshot, Pidge this a verbal conversation not Snapchat."

She sighed and put his jacket on appropriately, sticking her arms through the sleeves. "You are such an uneducated meme fuck. Anyways, what about Lotor? He has a pretty interesting back story if you ask me."

Keith furrowed his brows, lips jutting out in a pout. "What interesting back story are you referring to?"

She shrugged and popped a tick tack into her mouth, chewing it. Keith grimaced, making her smirk before she cleared her throat. 

"Apparently he's the son of that weird Zarkon guy that runs Galra Enterprises, and he says he's been cast out by his parents and is has been in the care of a house keeper for all his life. Says he's like an orphan but he knows who his parents are."

Keith made an 'are you serious' face and rolled his eyes. "That's what he said? He said something different at camp. He said, quote, 'My dad is rich and he's been teaching me all the tricks. We're going to be bigger than Altea Industries, because we are powerful. I'm always by my fathers side.' That's what he said."

Pidge raised a brow before popping another tick tag in her mouth and closed her eyes. "That's what he said. Also, he mentioned you."

That caught his attention and he eyed her before crossing the street, Pidge next to him. "What do you mean, 'he talked about you?"

She nodded, motioning for him to follow her in the direction of the store in front of them. 

"Yeah, he said you were fairly attractive." She gave him a sly look, wiggling her eyebrows teasingly and Keith shook his head furiously.

"No, I don't want to be involved with Lotor. What makes you think that I would like the guy? I literally spent the first month of classes telling you how much I hated him."

"Huh. Good point. Get me that box from the top shelf."

He obliged and brought it down for her, Pidge choosing random chip bags from inside said box. "Okay, that's enough. Huh, weird."  
Keith tilted his head, brows lifted. "What's weird?"

She jutted her lip out and instead plopped the chips on the cashiers desk, taking out a credit card from her pocket. Keith raised a brow, curiously glancing at the credit card. 

"Isn't that your dad's card?"

"What he doesn't know doesn't kill him, Keith."

Keith shrugged. "I mean, it doesn't affect me as long as I'm not the one paying."

Pidge snorted, laughing as the two walked out of the convenience store with chips and energy drinks. She looked around curiously though, Keith catching her gaze and copying her actions. 

"What do you see?"

She gave a suspicious glance at the corner before tugging his arm and pulling him along, Keith's eyes widening in surprise as he fell on the concrete. 

Pidge turned to look at him and immediately panicked, kneeling down and pulling him up by his shoulders. "Shit, Keith?! Keith dude, are you with me?"

"That depends in what sense you mean," he muttered deliriously while sitting up and rubbing his head, wincing at the bulge that was forming on his forehead.

Pidge furrowed her brows, giving him a suspicious look before taking out a tissue from the pocket of her jean and wiping away the dirt off his forehead. "Sorry."

Keith waved her off and stood up, hauling her bag on his back again before closing his which had managed to somehow open itself, Pidge looking guiltily to the side. Keith noticed and frowned, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

"Hey. It's okay, seriously. You've done worse, remember? Like pushing me out of the treehouse for going up there when we were eight and you still played with dolls?"

She gasped and hit his shoulder, face flushed as she recalled what he was talking about.

"You shouldn't have been up there anyways! It was my house!"

"You are horrible at closing your backyard gate, you know that? I think that's why your dads grill went missing over the summer."

Pidge rolled her eyes, the two continuing to walk towards their respective houses. "Yeah well, my dad shouldn't have left it out in the open in the first place."

"It's a grill. Where else is he supposed to put it?"

"I don't know, maybe the porch? I added extra security measures to the house anyways."

"You-. Never mind."

She flashed him a cheeky smile before they rounded the corner that led them to the park two blocks down from their house, Pidge stopping to lean against a tree. Her smile faded as she caught something from he corner of her eye moving, frowning. 

"Do you feel like we're being followed?"

Keith gave her a blank look, looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being watched. "I thought it was only me."

Pidge pursed her lips and put a hand on her hip, tilting her head to the right as she stared at the corner across the street. "Huh."

Keith raised a brow, giving her a knowing look. "Think it's Lotor?"

Pidge shrugged and started walking again, her pace quickening as they approached their houses.

"Maybe. Hey, did you fill out your college application yet?"

Keith stared at her blankly, blink once. "No."

She gave him an unimpressed look, stopping in front of her house to point an accusatory finger at him. "Well you better start filling it out then, we have until November first to hand them in. Lance and Hunk already did theirs, and I'm almost done with mine. You don't want to be caught up at the end of October, it's Halloween and everyone is going to be submitting theirs."  
Keith put a finger up to his chin, looking at her. "Yeah, you're right. We didn't get that much homework today, so I guess I'll start today. Thanks for reminding me." He gave her a final smile before heading inside, Pidge rolling her eyes before smirking and coughing. 

"Ahem. I think you still have my bag."

He paused and looked over his shoulder, realizing that he did indeed have her bag. He blushed and walked back towards her, giving her an amused look. "And you have my jacket. Trade you?"

She laughed and handed him his jacket, Keith giving her her book bag in return. "Pidge, your book bag is heavier than your dog. I'm concerned."

She scoffed and waved him off, instead choosing to head up the front steps to her house. "You know me, I always carry heavy stuff around in my bags. And I know that you hate carrying heavy stuff so you put all your notes in one binder." She flashed him a cheeky smile, Keith rolling his eyes in amusement. 

"It's like you know everything about me."

She only shrugged and took out her keys, opening the front door. "Yeah and I know everything about you too! See you later emo!"  
Keith made a what sounded like a protesting noise before Pidge closed the door, chuckling to herself and heading upstairs. She still had to complete all her assignments, after all. 

Keith sighed and before entering, gave one last look at the street. There was no one there, so was he still paranoid? Lotor's presence was starting to affect him to much. 

He entered his house and walked into the kitchen, a frown on his face. His mother noticed and stopped making dinner, instead washing her hands and crossing them across her chest. 

"Hey Keith, how was school?"

"I want to die."

His mother gave him an exasperated look, Keith giving her a small smile before grabbing an orange off the table. "I'm going upstairs, I need to finish my assignments and start working on my university application."

She perked up at hearing that, eyebrows raising. "Really? What schools are you think of? Harvard? Stanford? Galra University?"  
Keith made a face at the mention of Galra University, his mom laughing. 

"Okay okay, so Galra University is a no. Altea University?"

Keith shrugged, taking a seat at the table. "I like the idea of going to Altea University, but I don't think my grades are high enough."

"Your grades are all ninety five and above. You really think you couldn't get in? It's a good school, Keith. Just try it." She gave him and encouraging smile and squeezed his hand before getting up and starting to cook again.  
"Oh, and do me a favor?"

He looked up and raised a questioning brow. "Yeah?"

"Tell Katie and her family to come over for dinner tomorrow."

"Why can't you do it?"

She smirked and shrugged. "Oh, I'm just saying because you love talking to Katie, so might as well pass the message along."

Keith felt his face flush red, coughing awkwardly before picking up the orange peels and throwing them in the trash can. "I'll uh, I'll make sure that she knows."

She gave him a knowing look before turning around and going back to chopping vegetables up, Keith making a face at the sight of peas. 

"Why peas?"

"Why not?"

He opened his mouth to argue but decided against it and instead went upstairs to his room, flinging his bag into to corner and plopping down on his bed. He pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his Instagram, something that he had only gotten because his group of friends and Shiro had told him to get. 

In total, he had about 50 followers. The number had caused Lance to laugh, and Pidge had to smack him on his head and remind him that he didn't have the 1,000 that he had planned on having by the end of high school.  
He chuckled to himself before being startled by a loud voice. 

"KEITH YOU BETTER BE FILLING OUT YOUR APPLICATION!"

He jumped up and fell off his bed, earning a cackle from his neighbor. He scowled and glared at her, rubbing his head. "That's the second time I've fallen today and it's because of you, Pidge!"

She gave him an innocent smile before piling her books onto her desk. "Oops."

He shook his head and fixed his hair, tying it back in a ponytail. "Hey Pidge, my mom wants you guys to come over for dinner tomorrow. She looked really excited about it too."

Pidge raised a brow, mouth jutted out a little.  
"Really? My mom was in a really good mood when I walked in but when I asked why she said, 'Oh Katie I'll tell you later!' like what is that supposed to mean?!" She threw her hands up exasperatedly, earning a chuckle from Keith. 

"Guess we'll find out tomorrow."

"Ten bucks it's about our brothers."

"Fifteen that they're coming home soon."

"Deal. Now I have to finish stuff, so go away."  
She shut her blinds abruptly and Keith blinked before shrugging and going back to his desk, but not before catching a glimpse of a car rushing past his house. It was a fancy car; a limousine. 

He narrowed his eyes before shutting his blinds and going to sit at his desk, pulling out his application from its neat spot in his desk. Something else was bothering him too, though. It was how Pidge had said that she knew everything about him. 

Casting a look at the family photos that were on the wall, he frowned and turned back to his desk. 

There were some things she didn't know about him, and she wasn't going to find out. _Ever._

* * *

Lotor felt a grin spread on his face as he looked up to see Pidge and Keith stick their head inside their respective houses again and close the blinds. 

"So that's where these two live. Interesting."  
He had followed them all the way from Altea High, and had picked up on their behavior. 

"It's pathetic, really. He likes her, she likes him but they aren't going to do anything."

Sendak raised a brow, crossing his arms. "And what are you going to do about it?"

Lotor smirked, throwing one last glance at the two's houses before taking a sip of water from a glass. "I'll make her fall in love with me, and then she's going to help us with our plan. All while we watch the boy crumple as his precious 'Pidge' is taken away from him."

Sendak's lips curled up into a cruel smile, Lotor grinning as he put his cup down. 

"It's like they say, after all. Karma is a bitch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaahhhh the chapter is up a day late I'm sorry y'all, there was so much that was going on this week, like the season three stuff. I seriously was too excited to write I'm sorry. But here is this weeks new chapter, albeit a little late. Hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Jealousy Thy Name Is Keith

If you ever asked Keith how his ideal Friday would go, it wasn't how he was spending it now. After all, no one should spend their lunch in the boy's bathroom hiding from stupid feelings. 

Keith scowled as he opened his bag to pull out a sloppily made sandwich that he had rushed to make in the morning before dashing out of his house to get to school on time. Also, it was raining. He was soaked by the time he made it to first period, and he had glared at Lance when he made a comment on how he looked like a wet dog. He might hate high school, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to try and get good grades. 

Truth be told, it was Pidge's fault that he cared so much about getting good grades anyway. Her and Shiro, if he was being completely honest. They were the ones pushing him to do the best that he could, so he could get into Altea University. 

Pidge. On any other day he would smile when her name passed through his mind but she was actually the reason that he was sitting on the cold toilet with a soggy sandwich. His clothes hadn't fully dried, so he was sure that he was going to catch a cold. 

He scowled at the reason why he was sitting in a bathroom stall alone, Pidge-less. Well, it wasn't like she had forced him to sit in the boys bathroom all alone, it was more of an impulse that he had had. 

Pidge and Lotor had been paired up for English, and that would've been fine if not for the fact that they were now partners for the entire first semester. Not to mention that they also had to work together on a project, and Lotor had decided that today was the day that he wanted to ask for her help. 

Keith munched angrily on his sandwich, imagining all the ways he could kill Lotor. 

_How about I chop all his hair off, and expose him about it all being weave? No person has hair that long. Also, it would stop him from stealing Pidge away from me when I need her most. Hamilton intrusive thoughts no, don't bring up Who Live,Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story. Yes, let me just twist his neck and sever his head from his body and proudly place it on top of the school flag pole. Yes, this is a great plan._

He started smiling like crazy, ignoring the fact that his sandwich still tasted like water and then cackled at the thought of everyone laughing at Lotor's chopped off hair. He didn't realize when two pairs of footsteps entered the bathroom since he was still cackling over the thought of exposing Lotor. 

"Keith?"

Keith stopped cackling and pushed open the bathroom stall, half of his sandwich still in his mouth. 

Hunk gave him a sympathetic look before Lance shook his head pitifully. "Oh man, you've got it bad."

Keith raised a brow, chewing his sandwich. "Got what bad?"

Lance rolled his eyes, fully pushing open the stall door and leaning against it while Hunk kept shaking his head. "You've got the jealousy bug, Mullet."

Keith frowned, shaking his head before taking another bite out of his sandwich and looking to the side. "I don't know what your talking about."

Hunk looked at him, a concerned look on his face. "Keith, you're literally sitting on a toilet with a soggy sandwich and soaked clothes because Pidge went off to help Lotor during our lunch period."

Keith pouted and kept looking to the side, making a big point of ignoring the two males in front of him. "She shouldn't even be talking to that jackass," he muttered. 

Lance sighed before shaking his head, Hunk mimicking his actions. Keith raised a brow, finally looking up at both of them. "Now what?"

Lance groaned, looking at Hunk. "Are you going to tell him or am I going to do it?"

"I already tried it, and you saw what happened."

"Can someone please tell me why you're intruding my pity party?"

"Well shit, I didn't know you were Melanie Martinez."

Keith scowled, finishing his sandwich and pulling a Capri-Sun out of bag before sticking the straw in a slurping it moodily. "Don't insult Melanie. Can you two just go? I don't need you two here, leave me alone to die."

Lance shot him an 'are you serious' face before rolling his eyes. "And you wonder why Pidge calls you emo. Dude, I'm going to break something to you."

Keith raised a brow before narrowing his eyes. "Don't say it."

"I'm going to say it so that it gets through your thick skull once and for all."

"Hunk, be a pal and tell Lance to shut up."

Hunk just gave him a sympathetic smile while shaking his head. "Sorry Keith, but he's right."

Lance smiled at him. "Thank you Hunk. Now  
Keith, listen up so you can finally accept the truth."

"No."

"You-"

"No."

"Like-"

"Lance, shut up."

"-Pidge," he finished with a smirk. Keith just scowled with a faint blush on his face as he finished slurping his juice. 

"No thanks, feelings are disgusting. Now move, I have to get to my locker before the stampede of freshmen rushing to get to their classes on time happens."

Hunk shook his head mournfully as Keith pushed past the both of them and Lance just rolled his eyes, a smirk on his face. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That Keith and Pidge have some serious jealousy issues?"

"The correct term would be, 'jealousy thy name is Keith', and no. Yes? In a way? Point is, we need to get them together somehow."

Hunk raised a brow, an uneasy look on his face. "Are you sure about that? Last time we tried that was with Shiro and Allura after that party at his parents house celebrating his 21st birthday."

"It worked didn't it?"

"They were so awkward around each other for a week, Lance, until Shiro finally exploded and told Allura. It was intense."

Lance waved him off, shaking his head. "No no, that was not as intense as when Keith and Pidge tried to get Matt and Shiro together. Now THAT was intense, Hunk. What we need is a plan."

The two pondered over what they could do, before Lance snapped his fingers as a huge grin grew on his face. "And I know exactly what we're going to do."  
_______________________________________

Keith trudged down the halls, eyeing his phone to check the time. _11:35. Ten minutes before English._

He opened his locker and quickly stuffed his -now dry- jacket inside before putting a hand up to his head. Shit, he was so going to be bed ridden for at least Saturday and Sunday. 

His thoughts wandered over to what Lance said, growing as he took out his spare red jacket and put it on. _I'm not jealous of Pidge hanging out with Lotor, I don't like her that way. At least, I think I don't like her that way? No, I definitely don't like her that way. It's just stupid Lotor making me paranoid, something about him rubs me in the wrong way. But I can't deny that she's somewhat cute- NOPE NOT TODAY, KEITH._

Quickly, he slammed his locker shut before jumping in shock. 

"So Keith, what's got you emo today?"

He put a hand up to his heart, clutching it while staring at her. "Pidge don't scare me like that!"

She smirked, opening her locker before peeking from behind it at him. "Where's the fun in that? Anyways, are we still on for dinner?"

Keith nodded, wearily eyeing his still somewhat wet notes. Damn it his head was pounding. "Yeah, sure. My mom said to invite your family over so yeah, of course it's still on."

Pidge stopped rummaging through her things, frowning before slamming her locker shut and standing on her toes to put a hand on his forehead. Keith raised a brow, looking up at her hand. 

"Uh, Pidge?"

"Are you okay? You look like shit, Keith."

He shrugged, leaning on his locker before giving her a small reassuring smile. "I'm fine. How was lunch with Lotor?" He forced himself to maintain a smile on his face as he spoke about Lotor, Pidge still frowning. 

"No mister, you're not 'fine.' I passed Lance and Hunk on my way to the lunchroom where you were supposed to be, only for them to tell me that you were sitting in the bathroom eating a soggy sandwich while literally shivering. So no, you're not fine," she ended while poking his chest with an angry look on her features. 

Keith blinked, looking into her eyes as she glared at him. He finally sighed and removed her finger from his chest, sliding to the side and standing properly on his feet with his arms crossed. 

"I don't know if you noticed, but it was raining cats and dogs in the morning."

Her glare softened and she finally stepped back, a frown still present on her face. "You got caught in the rain? I thought your mom drove you to school when it rained."

Keith scoffed, looking to the side. "Emergency at the hospital, she left around four in the morning. Well, she and my dad actually."

Pidge gave him a sympathetic look before pulling a pack of skittles out from her bag and handing it to him. He raised a brow, eyeing it before smiling slightly and taking it. "Thanks."

"Taste the rainbow, be the rainbow, Keith."

"Nah, it's more like in the red, blue, purple and pink zone for me you know."

She smirked before shaking her head and pulling him along. "Mhm okay. So is it just gonna be our families or is someone else coming?"

Keith shrugged, rubbing the back of his head to try and stop the pounding. "Just Lance and Hunk. My mom wanted them over for some reason, so yeah they're coming over for dinner with us."

Pidge shook her head before lightly punching his arm. "Ew. Let's go go English, you look ready to faint."

Keith frowned at the thought of having to see Lotor again, Pidge not noticing or not choosing to comment about it before the two started walking towards their English class.  
________________________________________

"Pidge, have you seen my red shirt?"

She stared at him incredulously while sitting at his desk, eyes wide. "You own something other than black? Since when?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Haha, very funny. You were the one who got me the red shirt."

She raised a brow before turning back to whatever she was writing, not even giving him a second glance as he groaned frustratedly. "I must've been high to get you something other than a black shirt. Also, wasn't that a Christmas present that I gave you like four years ago?"

Keith stopped rummaging through his closet to poke his head out. "Was it really four years ago?"

She snorted, continuing to not look at him. "Yeah. Also, didn't you say that Shiro took it by accident to Altea University? In his bag?"

Keith stopped rummaging to his closet before closing his eyes. "Fucking dammit Takashi."

"Takashit?"

"Isn't that his name in your phone?"

"His Snapchat name too. Yours is Emo to The Extremo."

He pouted, coming out of his closet with a black shirt. "I'm not emo."

She gave him the side eye, smirking. "Explain the MCR posters that you stashed behind your bed before I came over then."

Keith blanched, eyes full of confusion. "How'd you know?"

"I'm your neighbor, I've seen some shit man."  
He raised a brow, pulling a chair towards where she was and sitting on it. "What exactly have you seen?"

"I've seen you sneak out some times, and then there's that time to you we're like half drunk after New Years last year so you just jumped on your bed blasting Panic! At The Disco while stripping yourself of everything but your underwear. Matt lost his shit man, it was hilarious!" She said while cackling at the memory. 

Keith flushed red before looking to the side. "You know I've seen you do some wild things too right?"

"Nothing beats you half drunk, Keith."

Keith started taking off his shirt, Pidge just taking a peek before turning back to Keith's application, which she was naturally filling out for him since he didn't know what to fill out for half of it. The pair didn't notice as two pairs of footsteps approached the room. 

"Keith? Half drunk? That sounds wild." Lance smirked as he walked in, immediately recoiling when he saw that Keith was in the process of taking off his shirt. 

"KEITH DIOS MÍO PUT YOUR SHIRT ON!" He ran and covered Pidge's eyes, the smaller girl protesting. "Lance stop covering my eyes before I bite your hand!"

He let go and rotated the chair around so she wouldn't be able to see Keith, Pidge rolling her eyes and grabbing a text book of the desk to place the application on. "It's not like I haven't seen him without a shirt before, Lance."

Lance screeched and Hunk covered his ears, wincing as he did so. "Lance, why are you screaming?"

"BECAUSE KEITH THINKS IT'S OKAY TO SCAR HER EYES WITH HIS AB BARREN BODY!"

Pidge burst out laughing, and Keith, finally with his shirt on, crossed his arms as he scowled. "I could have abs if I wanted to, I don't think you could though."

Lance stopped screaming to glare at Keith, turning the chair Pidge was sitting on around at full force, causing the girl to screech as she fell off. "Oh yeah? SHIT PIDGE."

Keith's eyes widened before he quickly slid over to where she was and caught her before she fell, Pidge throwing herself over his back. "My knight in shining armor!" She teased. He rolled his eyes before erupting into laughter, Pidge doing the same while still laying in his back. 

Hunk sent a discreet smirk in Lance's direction and the tall Cuban boy just grinned back.  
"So should we come back later?"

Keith stopped laughing and Pidge shot up, standing up straight before nervously running her hands through her long locks of hair. 

"Lance, don't imply shit that doesn't mean anything."

 _Ouch._ Keith frowned and looked to the side before brushing his hands on his jeans and standing up. "Yeah Lance, don't imply shit that doesn't mean anything. Me and Pidge were messing around, you know, like friends."

He didn't notice how Pidge flinched at his words before she turned around to sit back in his chair. "Keith, I finished going over your application and finished filling it out for you. 

You're welcome, I deserve pay." She tried to joke, a forced smirk on her face. 

Lance just shared a look with Hunk as he sighed and shook his head remorsefully, Keith huffing. "Can you two stop that?"

Pidge raised a brow, pen hovering above his application. "Do I need to sign it for you or?"  
Hunk stopped shaking his head to stare at the duo in confusion. "Wait you two know how to fake each other's signatures?"

Pidge smirked for real this time, along with Keith who just exchanged a look with her. "It's called, we have a plan for when the checks start coming in."

Lance raised a brow, staring suspiciously at the two. "Checks? For what? _Mierda, no me digan que van a vender drogas-_ "

Pidge rolled her eyes, handing the pen over to Keith so he could sign his application. "No Lance, we aren't going to sell drugs. It's for our future company."

Keith nodded before quickly signing the application. "What she said."

"We literally planned our entire future."

Lance shrugged. "Well, whatever floats your boat. Also, are we going to eat? Me and Hunk are starving!"

Pidge glanced at the time in her phone, furrowing her brows at the message before drawing out a long sigh and replying. "Lance, shut up."

Lance threw himself on Keith's bed, much to the others indignation, before propping himself up on his elbows and staring at her. 

"What's got you all mopey?"

"Lotor."

Many things happened in the small time frame after she said that. First, Keith snapped the pencil that he had been angrily tapping on his desk after Lance threw himself on his bed. Secondly, Hunk started coughing and pounding on his chest. Third, Lance choked on air and his arms let go from under him. Pidge just ignored them, sending out a message to Lotor before finally looking up at them when it was silent. 

She peered over her glasses at them, a confused look on her features. "What?"

Hunk was the first one to react, putting his hands up. "You're telling me that you got Lotor's number?"

Lance sat up and stared shocked at her, mouth agape as he tried to form words. "You got Lotor's number?"

Pidge frowned, confusion still present on her features. "Uh, yeah? We're partners for an English project, I had to stay in contact with him somehow."

Keith just stared at her, face filled with horror. Lance and Hunk looked over at him before Lance burst out laughing, clutching his  
stomach. "Keith you look like you saw a ghost!"

"My soul has left my body, because Pidge got Lotor's number. He could track you, you know."

Pidge snorted before she gave him a sly look. "I made sure he couldn't before I gave it to him. No fuck boys here tonight!"

"Katie!" 

Pidge winced as she heard her mom call her name in a warning tone, Lance smirking. "Aw, little Pidge is still scared of her mommy!"

Hunk gave Lance a flat look, Lance realizing and his smirk slipping from his face. "What?"

"Don't act like you aren't scared of your mother and her chancla." Lance just shuddered at the thought before Keith sneezed, causing them all to freeze before erupting into full blown laughter. 

Hunk wiped a tear from his eye, chuckling as the laughter died down. "Oh man, I can't believe that Keith is Dipper confirmed."

Lance snorted, leaning on Hunk for support. "He even sneezes like him."

Pidge wiped a tear from her eye, cackling as she placed an arm lazily over his shoulder. "Dude, you sneeze like a kitten. Now I believe Shiro."

Lance straightened up from his previous position, sending Keith a teasing smile. "Aw, is little Keith sick? _Sana sana colita de rana, si no sanas hoy sanaras mañana._ "

Keith pouted before shrugging and looking to the side. "Whatever. I think-"

The doorbell rang, and the four exchanged looks before scrambling out the door and down the stairs, Lance shoving Keith in an attempt to get to the door first. 

The four had barely made it to the bottom step when the door opened, revealing three familiar smiling faces. 

Pidge gasped, and so did Keith while Lance got a huge shit eating grin on his face as Hunk just grinned so bright, it could rival the sun. 

"Takashit? It's been ten thousand years," Pidge said as Shiro shook his head in amusement before laughing. "Nice to see you too, Katie."  
Matt stepped up from behind him, grabbing her in a choke hold and rubbing her hair. "Is actually Pidge or Matt 2.0, Shiro." 

Pidge licked his arm and the older boy made a face before letting her go, the girl just smirking. "Pidge I'll accept only because it's Shiro and Allura, but Matt 2.0? No, get used to hearing Pidge 2.0."

"Doesn't work that way Pigeon! You see, I am the oldest."

"And the wittiest, and the gossip in New York City is-" Keith quickly slammed a hand over his mouth before Pidge cackled and walked over towards him, punching his arm. 

"Dude, you're like my hero with your Hamilton references."

He snorted, smiling at her. "My pleasure."

The trio in front of them exchanged glances and looked to Lance and Hunk, but the two just smirked and shrugged in sync.

Keith's mother appeared behind them, clasping her hands with a smile on her face. "Oh Shiro, Matt, Allura! It's so wonderful to see you again, come in come in, dinner is just about ready!"

Shiro leaned down to hug his mom, Matt politely maneuvering around him to find Colleen as Allura just achoches over to the side to talk to the small group. 

Lance, of course, walked up first and winked at Allura. "Allura, it is so good to see you! Staying beautiful, I can see."

Allura rolled her eyes playfully, already used to Lance's flirting. "It's been a month since I've last seen all of you, but you never change."

He shot her a grin, teeth bright and white. "You know it!"

She laughed, the others simply rolling their eyes in amusement at his actions. Pidge heard her mom call her before she headed towards the kitchen, Keith following her out of pure instinct. 

Once out of ear shot, Allura smirked and walked over to Lance and Hunk. "So how's the Conspiracy Duo doing? Any progress?"

Lance shook his head, Hunk mimicking his actions. 

"If you call Keith being a big jealous baby over Pidge not having lunch with him as progress, then yes that's progress."

Allura raised a brow, Shiro walking over towards them while looking over his shoulder at the two in question. "Guys, any explanation as to why Keith follows Ka-uh, Pidge, everywhere?"

Lance shrugged, smirking. "It's called he likes following his future wife to talk to his future mother in law."

Hunk chuckled as he spotted the two talking with rapid hand motions to Colleen, arguing, but that was just the way that it had always been. 

Shiro raised a brow before shrugging, Matt joining in on their conversation. "I guess so."

"You guess what, Shiro?"

"That my brother is going to be Colleen's future son in law."

Matt snickered, looking over at the arguing pair. "I would say no, but I'm not 15 anymore and now I can sense all the sexual tension. What phase are each of them in?"

"Keith's in the denial stage, and Pidge is in the oblivious but slowly coming around stage," Hunk supplied helpfully.

Matt shook his head, slyly grinning at Shiro and Allura. "Reminds me of you two during our freshman year in high school." Both mentioned blushed before sheepishly shrugging. 

Lance snorted. "That's disgustingly cute."

"What are all of you doing huddled by the corner? Can I join the cult?" Pidge leaned on the small table in the hallway, Keith behind her with his adorable confused face. 

"You summoning Satan or something?"

"No Keith, they're summoning Lotor."

Keith gasped and Pidge burst out laughing, clutching her sides. Allura frowned at the mention of his name, starting to open her mouth before Pidge interrupted. 

"Seriously Keith, he's bad but not that bad. Creepy, but he could be creepier and shadier like his dad. It's just one English project, two more weeks and then I don't have to work with him. Chill and don't worry so much, you're going to get white hair like Shiro," she teased. Shiro pouted and touched his white tuft of hair defensively, Matt snickering behind him. 

"Did you say Lotor?" 

Keith stopped staring at Pidge and swiftly turned towards Allura, a confused look on his face. "Yeah? Why?"

She scowled, the two beside her immediately noticing her anger and Shiro placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

"His fathers company has long been suspected to have been involved in my fathers cause of grave injuries a few years back. He and his father cannot be trusted, Pidge."

Pidge frowned, the trio of boys shooting Allura each a sympathetic look. "It's one project that the teacher paired us up with, Allura. All of you need to calm down, Keith taught me some karate moves. I'm not defenseless," she supplied with a smirk.

Keith nodded from behind her, Lance snorting. "Of course he taught you karate. Also, can we eat? I'm starving, mama was making dinner when I left."

Colleen joined them, laughing at something Sam had said before putting a firm hand on both Pidge and Keith's shoulders. "Time to eat kids." Pidge and Keith looked down at their shoulders before looking at each other's and sighing, walking towards the kitchen. 

Allura followed them first before Shiro pulled her to the side. 

"Shiro?"

"I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

She smiled reassuringly, placing a hand in his arm. "I'm fine, I just don't really like Lotor. But I'm alright, now let's go eat what your mother prepared."

He smiled and took her hand in his before the two walked into the dining room, everyone looking at them before Lance whistled. "Look at the lovebirds!"

The two blushed as Keith and Pidge smirked at each other. Everyone else laughed as they took a seat at the large table, chattering about things. 

"So Katie, you remember old Mrs. Marilyn right?"

Pidge raised a brow, half of her spaghetti in her mouth. "Uh, yeah?"

Sam chucked, passing her a napkin which she gladly accepted. "She's been asking about you and your brother, she says it'd be great if you stopped by."

Keith took a sip of his juice while watching her face light up, smiling to himself at her excitement. Only computers and late nights sneaking out to the park made her light up like that. 

"Really? She remembers us?"

Matt was surprised too, his fork hanging midair in his hand. "Seriously? She's in that nursing home a few blocks down from Altea High, right?" Colleen nodded, Aiko raising a brow in confusion. 

"Mrs. Marilyn?" 

Pidge nodded enthusiastically, Keith watching her in amusement. "She was the lady who lived in this house before all of you moved in. She was so great!"

Keith pretended to be hurt, looking to the side and pouting. "I see, you prefer her."

Pidge rolled her eyes, punching his arm.  

"Keith, believe me I wouldn't change anything because you're like my number one best friend."

He grinned, messing up her hair with his hand and she swatted at it, both playfully grinning at each other. "Good to hear."

Pidge snorted before looking up and raising a brow. "Is that the big surprise mom? Not that it's not nice, but seriously?"

Lance scrunched his brows in confusion, staring at Holts. "Surprise? Is that why me and Hunk were invited? We don't even know Mrs. Marilyn."

Hunk nodded, equally confused as Lance. "Yeah, is that the surprise? Also, love the food ma'am."

She smiled appreciatively and glanced at Shiro, giving him a look. He raised a brow before understanding and clearing his throat. The other teenagers looked at him, all with confused faces and the adults grinning. 

"Yeah no, that wasn't the surprise. The surprise actually has to do with you guys at the school."

Lance made a suspicious face, crossing his arms. "Go on."

Shiro nodded while smiling. "Right, so you know how there's after school clubs? Well, Altea University decided to send a few of its students to start up a robotics club at Altea High. Allura and Matt are going to help me start that clubs up."

Pidge and Keith gasped, looking at each other in surprise before Lance and Hunk grinned. A chorus of "Really?!" from all four of them was heard and the adults laughed. 

Allura and Matt nodded, grinning at Shiro who seemed the most excited. "Yep. We're planning on starting it up in November, and we wanted to let you guys know first in person so you could tell others at Altea High."

Pidge and Keith high fived, and the rest of the night was spent chattering about the club and cracking jokes at the table. It felt great, to finally have everyone reunited at the table. 

Lance and Hunk left around 10, having to get home before curfew or else they faced getting their electronics taken away. 

Around 11, the Holts finally decided to leave. Matt and Pidge walked through the door joking around, talking about inside jokes, trailing after their parents before Pidge turned back and waved to Keith. 

"Bye mister emo, Takashit and Allura!"  
Keith rolled his eyes before waving, Shiro simply smiling and waving. Allura giggled at the others names before waving goodbye to the youngest member of the Holt family. 

Keith waited a good two minutes before excusing himself and running upstairs, sitting at his desk and rapidly tapping a pencil before a familiar sound was heard at his window. He secretly grinned before he turned to the window, watching Pidge smirk as she threw another pebble. 

He blocked it with his arm, teasingly smirking at her. "Nice try."

"Oh darn, I thought it was going to work." 

The two laughed before Pidge settled on her window seat, smiling softly at something before Keith coughed. "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm okay. It's just that, I haven't seen Mrs. Marilyn in years. More than ten, actually and now she wants to talk to us again and it's just...nostalgic in a way?" She pulled her knees up to her chest and stared at the ceiling. 

Keith smiled, shaking his head. "If she liked you back then, she's going to like you now. Don't worry." 

She sent him a grateful smile before clasping her hands. "Well, I think you should sleep because you look like you're dead inside."

"I am dead inside."

"Fair point, but now you look like you're going to actually pass out. Go sleep, we'll talk tomorrow. Also, Shiro and Allura better be staying until at least Sunday."

Keith chuckled, rubbing his left eye. "Yeah, they're staying until Sunday afternoon before heading back to Altea University."

She grinned before getting down and waving at him. "I'm going to 'sleep', and by that I mean staying up doing my stuff." 

He rolled his eyes before getting up and stretching. "Alright Pidge. Goodnight." With that, he shut the window and flopped on his bed, falling asleep immediately. 

Pidge smiled at him fondly before shutting her window and flopping on her bed, pulling out her laptop from under her bed. However, before she could do anything, her phone vibrated and she checked it before sighing. 

Stupid Lotor. 

She quickly checked the message, raising a brow at his request to meet up sometime next week for lunch again. She frowned, remembering how Keith had locked himself in a bathroom stall because she wasn't there for lunch before shaking her head and telling Lotor that she couldn't do lunch. Sure, it was an important project but Keith was important to her too. 

At the thought of Keith, she flushed red and smacked her forehead with her hand. _What's wrong with me?_ She sat on her bed and pondered over it before gasping in realization.  
_I have a crush on Keith. Holy shit I HAVE A CRUSH ON KEITH._

So she did what was the most logical thing to do. She screamed into her pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I might not be able to post a new chapter next Friday due to a family event that is going to be taking place, but I will try my best to make sure you get your chapter next week! Also, translations:  
> 'Mierda, no me digan que van a vender drogas'- Shit, don't tell me that you're going to sell drugs  
> 'Sana sana colita de rana, si no sana hoy sanara mañana'- Heal heal frogs tail, if it doesn't heal today it will heal tomorrow  
> That's all for this update, hope you enjoyed it! Also, thank you so much for 1000 reads and 100 kudos, I appreciate every one of you who read this story!


	8. The Devil Wears a Man Purse

Pidge didn't consider herself the type of person to break promises. But then again, she hadn't considered being Keith's friend in the beginning, yet here she was. Begging for forgiveness from said boy. 

"Keith, you know I wouldn't skip our meet up on purpose."

Keith pointedly ignored her, sticking his head into his locker to find his water bottle and wallet while she crossed her arms from behind him. 

Lance looked at them with a bored expression, raising a brow when Hunk caught up with him. 

"Oh geez, is he still not talking to her?"

"It's petty, but something I would do."

"How long has it been?"

"Ever since class started, so for about eight hours?" Lance answered while counting the hours on his fingers, scrunching his brows as he concentrated. 

"He didn't even come to lunch; think he went to the bathroom again?"

"No, probably the library since Pidge wasn't there with the the walking L'Oréal comercial." 

Pidge looked at them agitatedly, Keith only snorting while glancing back at them.  
"I can hear you, you idiot." 

Lance gave her  a pointed look before putting his left hand on his hip. "If you know how petty Keith is why did you miss out on our day out yesterday knowing that he was going to ignore you?"

Keith raised his hands exasperatedly, barely missing the locker door. "Thank you, Lance!"

Hunk raised his brows, glancing over to a shocked Pidge. "That's not a sentence I'd ever think Keith would say."

Lance blinked, raising a brow. "You and me both, Hunk."

Pidge nodded before finally shaking out of her shock and glaring at Keith. "Keith, you and me are going to talk this out!" 

Keith returned to his resting bitch face before calmly slamming his locker shut, turning around and leaning down towards her, saying, "Nope." He then straightened up before walking towards the exit, taking a bite out of his chocolate as he did so. 

"Keith, you're lactose intolerant stop eating the chocolate."

"I hope it kills me."

"Don't worry, it's dark chocolate."

"No it's not!"

Pidge breathed out a sigh of relief, putting a hand on Hunk's arm. "Bless you, Hunk. Now excuse me while I try to reason with Emo for Beebo over there."

Hunk raised a brow, watching Keith discreetly look back before racing off, Pidge growling and gripping her hair in frustration. "Grrr stupid Keith! I don't get why he's so pissed!"

Lance frowned, turning towards his locker. 

"You know how he gets when you leave him without a proper excuse or when it's an excuse that involves Lotor."

"Also, calling him 'Emo for Beebo' probably didn't help either."

She frowned before sighing and letting her arms drop, opening her locker instead of taking after him. Lance shot her a sympathetic look at seeing how downcast she looked. 

"Look Pidge, Keith is being all touchy because you had promised to go but instead you decided to not say you weren't going. He wouldn't be as mad if you had actually told him that you weren't planning on going to the park with us, but you didn't and you just ditched. He has issues with that, you know."

This was news. She raised a brow, closing her locker and giving Lance a confused look. "No I didn't. What, he has issues with people cancelling plans?"

"No, he has issues with not knowing where people are when he's close to them or expected them. Remember what happened with Shiro?"  
She shuddered at the thought, remembering how Keith had been so nervous when Shiro didn't arrive on schedule, saying that something had happened. Shiro had been scheduled to return for the summer, but he, Allura and Matt got into a car accident. A bad one. Looking back on that, now she understood why he was so upset with her leaving. It wasn't because she had gone with Lotor for their project. It was because he worried about her. 

"He was worried? About me?"

Something about that made her flush pink, Lance noticing and smirking. 

"Well yeah, you have been his best friend since you were six you know. Maybe even more than best friend?" He suggest while waggling his brows in a teasing manner. 

She flushed a deeper shade of pink, shaking her head furiously as Lance and Hunk gave each other sly looks. "No, definitely best friend. Nothing else. Ha! Could you imagine? That's uh, a wild idea." She chuckled nervously while adjusting her glasses, nervously biting the inside of her mouth. 

"Yeah yeah, sure. It's looks like you're finally in the 'denying but secretly crushing like a high school girl' stage."

"Lance, she is a high school girl."

"That's the point of it, Hunk."

Pidge stopped blushing as she got a determined look on her face, turning around on her heel and heading towards the door. "I've wasted enough time here. I need to get Keith to talk to me."

She paid no attention to two who were chuckling behind her and ran out with her hand rummaging through her bag, skidding to a stop at the sight in front of her. 

Keith, her best friend who usually never talked to others, was talking to Nyma. Nyma was a girl in their seventh period class who, quite frankly, Pidge hated with her entire being after she saw her flirt with every guy that she met. Well, everyone except Rolo who was the male version of her.

Nyma was also extremely pretty, which made it easier for her to lure guys into her trap. With her big eyes and long lashes with a 'perfect curvy body,' as Lance had put it, she was in Pidge's book, a hoe. 

She glared as Nyma spoke to Keith, the boy raising a brow and shrugging before responding with a look that showed that he didn't care. Well, that was something. She eyed them while walking down the front steps, glancing up and hoping to catch him looking at her instead of Nyma. 

_Woah. Since when am I jealous of Keith talking to other girls?_ She quickly shook her head to get rid of her thoughts, instead tapping her foot impatiently when he wouldn't hurry up. 

"Sickening, isn't it?" She gasped and jumped at the voice that spoke from behind her, clutching her heart while scowling. 

"Don't do that!"

Lotor just chuckled, placing a hand on his hip. "Why not? You look hilariously adorable," he supplied. Pidge rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. 

"Yeah? That's nice. Very nice."

Lotor just sent her a smile before raising a brow and motioning at Keith. "You're friends with him, yes?"

She frowned, staring at Keith who kept talking to Nyma. What kind of business did he have talking to her anyways? This wasn't jealousy, she knew it. She couldn't be jealous over someone she didn't even like in the romantic way. 

"Katie?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. We're best friends."

Lotor nodded, crossing his arms. "That would explain why you two are always conjoined at the hip. You two are basically inseparable."  
Pidge raised a brow, looking up at him with a suspicious look. "How do you know that?"

"You two are always whispering and making faces at other students when you're together. Always walking the halls together. Half of the student body thinks that you two are an item," Lotor supplied why giving her a sly look.

She flushed red and looked to the side, crossing her arms before coughing awkwardly. "There's nothing wrong with me hanging out with my best friend all the time. That's why he's my best friend. Wait, why are you even talking to me about this? You don't talk to me about anything other than yourself and our English project!" She said, clearly exasperated while waving her arms around. 

He chuckled before his face turned somewhat serious. "About that. See, I've decided that if you and I are to work together for this semester that we at least must try to know each other better."

Pidge raised a brow, not noticing Lance and Hunk walking towards Keith while giving her and Lotor the side eye. 

"That-wow. Okay. Well, I think we know each other enough."

He gave her a confused look before looking towards Keith and smirking when he saw him look up and catch his gaze. Lotor winked at him before turning toward Pidge, the girl just frowning and thinking things over in her head. 

"I noticed that you and Keith weren't talking to each other."

Pidge snorted. "More like he isn't talking to me. He's so annoying," she muttered under her breath. The hint affection in her tone didn't go unnoticed by Lotor, who just rolled his eyes. 

"He must be very petty to not talk to his so called 'best friend' for an entire day."

She shrugged. "It's Keith."

Keith kept glancing up at Pidge and Lotor with a frown playing at his lips, hastily biding a goodbye to Nyma before pulling Lance and Hunk towards her. 

Lotor saw and hastily turned to Pidge. "Say, you know Coran from a personal view right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"He's an...old friend of my fathers, despite their company's being rivals. It's almost his birthday, is it not?"

Pidge shook her head. "No. It's sometime around prom."

Lotor raised a brow. "Interesting."

"Hey Pidge," Lance said while steering his way around Keith to stand next to her. 

"Come around here often, milady?" 

She snorted. "Please Lance, the only reason I'm here is because I was talking to Lotor. Guys, meet Lotor even though you already know who he is. Lotor, meet my friends. The goofball is Lance, the big smiley guy is Hunk and the emo one is Keith."

Hunk gave Lotor a hesitant smile before Lance raised a brow while putting an arm on his hip. He was about to speak when Keith did instead, trying to hide the look of disgust that he had before while looking at Lotor and Pidge interacting. 

"Lotor."

Lotor looked down at Keith and raised a brow. "You're that one kid from last years summer camp trip that almost chopped down an entire tree, aren't you?"

Lance snorted and Hunk only looked at Keith in confusion, the mentioned boy trying to hide the blush on his face while Pidge just stood there with a neutral look on her face. 

"That sounds like him."

"I'm mad at you," he said while looking to the side with a scowl and his arms crossed. Lotor raised a brow watching them, smirking when Pidge growled and stomped her foot. 

"No Keith, I'm mad at you  for being a whiny petty little bitch and not listening!"

His eyes widened and he gulped in fear, Lance and Hunk doing the same and hiding behind Keith. 

"Great going mullet, you got her mad!"

"Hell yeah I'm mad!"

Keith swallowed the saliva that had gathered in his mouth, licking his lips before stepping towards her. 

"The only person that has a right to be mad is me!"

"Don't twist the tables here, Kogane. You're going to listen to me and stop being so stupid now."

"Fine. Talk."

"Thank you! I didn't meet up with you because Allura mentioned that Coran wanted me and a few other students to meet up with him to discuss things about prom, I didn't skip it on purpose."

Keith's scowl softened and he raised a brow instead. "Why didn't you text me then?"

"Because Coran had us sit all day and think of plans in the cafeteria, which has shit wifi. Dipshit, I would never skip out on purpose."

Lotor had seemingly perked up once he heard Coran's name, looking at Pidge in interest.

"You're planning the prom events?"

Pidge nodded. "Coran started giving us ideas and we gave him ideas too."

Lance decided to step up from behind Keith, looking at Pidge with curiosity. "What is he planning? I want to know ahead of time to plan my night out."

Pidge snorted. "It's really vague, but so far it's going to be held in one of the banquet halls at Altea University apparently. Something about Allura wanting to revive her memories."

Hunk smiled. "I can't believe it's at Altea University! That place is like a castle, I'm telling you. Ooh, I wonder if I can cater something for prom!"

Pidge smiled at him. "Actually, Coran was saying the same thing. If you weren't busy that day, that is."

The group was so busy that they didn't notice Lotor look to the side and smile as he learned all the prom plans, said smile growing more sinister as the minutes passed. 

"Uh, so what's Coran gonna do there?

"Imagine Coran as the DJ," Lance said causing Keith to snort. 

"Hopefully lot. He's a man of talent, but he's probably going to supervise and chat with some of the other staff. Or try and be the DJ." Just thinking of that made him snort but shudder at the same time. 

Lotor raised a brow. "That's interesting. Well, if you don't mind I have to excuse myself. My ride has arrived," he stated as a limo pulled up. 

Out came Sendak, brows furrowing in confusion as he stared at Lotor standing with the other four teens. He decided not to comment, however, and instead beckoned Lotor over with his hand.

Lotor nodded before waving to the group, Lance snorting as he saw Lotor's bag. 

"I guess you can say that the devil wears a man bag to school, right Keith?" Lance said while looking at Keith. 

Keith just shrugged. "I can't give my opinion on his terrible fashion choices since I literally wear all black," he said while they all watched Lotor leave. He then sighed and turned around to face Pidge who was giving him an expectant look. 

"Look, I'm not going to kneel down and beg for forgiveness Pidge," he stayed drily. 

She snorted. "Sure you aren't. But are we cool now? You hating me...it feels wrong."

Hunk chuckled. "Didn't you two hate each other when you were like five?"

"I've always hated him. I just tolerate him."

"Really feeling the love, Pidge."

She smirked before punching his shoulder, Keith laughing and walking towards his house with her by his side. He and Pidge waved a goodbye to hunk and Lance before talking about stuff that had happened and Halloween, Lance jolting back to life after being lost in a shipping daydream of Keith and Pidge.

"GUYS WE'RE MEETING AT MY HOUSE SATURDAY FOR HALLOWEEN COSTUME PLANS!"

Keith laughed and turned to face him from the other side of the street. "AREN'T YOU TOO OLD FOR THAT?"

"DON'T LIE KEITH, YOU LOVE THEM!"  
Keith snorted before pulling Pidge along, the two whispering something about Lance and what costume would look better on the other. 

Hunk looked after the two with a smile, Lance shaking his head.

"They look cute together."

"Agreed. But their pining is so painful to watch."

Hunk grinned. "Almost as painful as your pining for Keith during freshman year."

Lance choked on his spit and turned towards Hunk with a frown. "You can't just SAY that, Hunk! I was in such a dark place!"

"Yes, you started listening to MCR for Keith too."

"Hunk, I love you but please shut up and let me die."

"Now you sound like Shiro."

Lance burst out laughing before pulling Hunk along, the two not noticing the limo that was parked around the corner.

* * *

Lotor sighed as he pondered over what Pidge had said over the prom ideas, watching curiously as the four interacted once he left. He noticed that they all clearly thought of him as a threat, and he smirked at that. They were so right in thinking that he was a threat.

"Woah, what's got you all pensive and smirky?"

He looked at Ezor, one of the four females that he had chosen to be a part of his gang. They had all managed to fit in the school without looking suspicious, something he was thankful for. 

"Nothing. I simply learned more about the school and that old mans plan for prom, that's all."

Acxa looked up, raising a brow. "What plans?"  
Lotor chuckled. "Sharp as ever, Acxa. I'm starting to think that you four are more intelligent than my male group," he added while giving Sendak the side eye. 

Ezor chuckled. "Of course we are! Also, what plans are you talking about?"

"Does it help with our plan go blow up-"

"Patience, Zethrid. The entire plan doesn't only involve blowing stuff up; you are aware of that are you not?"

She sighed and Ezor and Acxa sent her sympathetic but confused looks.

"So what did you find out?"

"Well Acxa, it seems that prom will be held at Altea University."

Zethrid snorted. "Of course it is. Everything has to be at Altea something."

"Shush! No offense though." Ezor said once Zethrid shot her a glare. 

Lotor chuckled. "Also, it seems that the old man will be there too. Our plans just got a whole lot easier."

Acxa raised a brow again. "Are you sure he is? What are your sources?"

"Katie Holt, the genius that is idolized by Coran along with the other three. They seem to have a close link with the old man, and I plan on taking advantage of that for our plan."

Ezor raised her hand. "Question. Are you sure that we can trust her? I mean, she's not exactly a fan of yours and everyone can tell. That Keith guy that's always with her is definitely so not a big fan of you, you know."

Lotor chuckled. "I'm aware. But surely I can make Katie open up to me."

"Or 'Pidge' as her friends call her. Just call her that."

"When the time comes that she trusts me enough, rest assured that I will do so. For now, I just plan on just finding my way into their lives."

Zethrid groaned. "Ugh. Are you still planning on making her fall in love with you? That's gross."

Ezor smirked. "Sure it isn't because you have a soft spot for her, Lotor? Come on, you all agree with me right? Right Narti?"

Narti shrugged before nodding, Ezor grinning. "See, I'm not the only one that thinks so!"

Lotor scoffed. "Me falling for Katie? Please. All I want is to have her on our side by putting her friends against her, leaving her with no choice except to run to me and you four. Then, we let her in on our plan and if she wants her precious 'friends' to be safe, she has to do what he command her to do."

Zethrid grinned. "This is gonna be good."

The other three nodded in agreement, talking about their plans for prom and about Katie. 

Every time she was brought up, Lotor smirked. _Poor Katie. She has no idea what she's in for. Such a pity, she seems like a nice girl. But I could care less, all I want is revenge. Revenge for my father._

He chuckled before turning towards his female friends, being drawn into their conversation.

He couldn't wait to set his plan into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all it's your girl, bringing you a chapter two days late but it's here! Also, yes I had to include the female Galra because I love them and they're all my wives lmao. Also, season three was wild and I just saw a trailer that had Matt in it so I'm screaming because mY SON IS COMING HOME AND I CAN FINALLY CODE HIM RIGHT FOR FANFICS *tears of joy* Also! It's my birthday, and I'm a proud 15 year old about to celebrate her quinceañera because I'm Hispanic af lmao. Thank you, and I love y'all so much!


	9. The Pining Kidge Halloween Story

Lotor didn't consider himself a guy that would still dress up for Halloween. But here he was, trying on weird costumes in front of his four female friends who were being extremely critical. 

Ezor jutted her lip out to the side, shaking her head at the costume he was wearing. "Pink is so not your color."

Acxa looked up from her place on his couch, resting her left arm on the armrest and dropping her head on the fist. "Can someone me how this is relevant to the plan again?"  
Zethrid shrugged. "I don't know, he just likes being extra."

"I'm right here you know."

"Yeah and you look terrible. If you're going to stick with something, stick with purple. Not pink. It just looks so wrong," said Ezor while shuddering. 

Lotor sighed. "Fine. But I must pick an outfit by the end of tonight, since today is Halloween."

"I could be training or stealing candy from a baby."

"Zethrid, I'm not sure mugging a twelve year is 'stealing candy from a baby." Acxa supplied while looking in confusion at Lotor. "Also, Ezor is right. Pink is definitely not your color."

Ezor grinned, turning towards Lotor. "See? I told you! Even Acxa agrees, and she doesn't even dress up for Halloween!"

Acxa rolled her eyes before getting up and stretching. "Yeah okay. Listen, I have things to do and places to be so I can't sit here and watch you try on outfits to impress your girlfriend. No offense though, Lotor. Anyone needs me, I'll be in the basement." She then walked out, Zethrid gritting her teeth with Ezor and Narti looking after Acxa with sullen faces. 

"Rude," was the only thing that Ezor said. Narti nodded and Zethrid just groaned, muttering something along the lines of 'this part of the plan is so stupid because I can't blow anything up yet.'

Lotor sighed before turning towards Ezor. "Time is running out. The whole day has practically flown by!"

"Uh, it's only 11 AM."

"Exactly! I just need an outfit that doesn't arouse suspicion."

Ezor frowned. "Lemme get this straight. You want to wear an outfit to blend in so you can stalk Katie?"

"Yes, exactly! But no matter what I pick you four, well three now, go against it."

Ezor opened her mouth and raised her brows. 

"Ooh, that's what's up. Why don't you just go as Chat Noir? He's in all black. Plus he's a kitty, and last I heard, Katie loves kitties."

Lotor pondered over it, putting a finger up to his chin. "Perhaps you are right. Show me this Chat Noir outfit."

Upon his request, Ezor showed it to him and while he looked it over she smirked. "Well? What do you think?"

He grinned. "It's perfect. Plus, it matches my skin tone!"

Ezor grinned. "Yep! So now can we go? I think Zethrid is going to combust," she said while glancing at Zethrid who was twitching weirdly and muttering ''boring, too boring.'

Lotor grimaced at the sight of her behavior. "Yes, you may leave now."

"ZETHRID WE'RE FREE!" Ezor called out cheerfully. 

"FINALLY!" Was the response and Ezor immediately started laughing before walking out the door after her with Narti shaking her head. She waved goodbye to Lotor before walking out, using her senses other than sight to make sure she didn't bump into any furniture. 

Lotor sighed warily before picking up his outfit, feeling the texture. _I should've had suits made out of this material for is. Dammit._ He dropped it on his bed before smirking at remembering about his plan and how it was all going to start to unravel after tonight. 

This was going to be fun.

* * *

"All I'm saying is that it's rude to say that Nyma is a hoe!"

Pidge shot him a frown, still toying with the object in her hand. "My opinion, get over it. Now pass me that screw."

Lance sighed, passing her a small screw. "But still, she's a girl with feelings too you know. Even if she messed with my boyfriend I wouldn't call her a hoe because it doesn't feel right."

Pidge glared at him. "Keith is not my boyfriend."

"I didn't say Keith specifically, did I?" Lance asked while smirking and waggling his brows. 

Pidge opened her mouth to object before promptly shutting it closed, instead sighing and turning towards her project. 

"Stupid Keith."

Lance stopped smirking, instead gaining a look of confusion on his face. "Hey are you okay? I was only kidding, you know that right?"

"That's the whole point!" She exclaimed while throwing her arms frustratedly in the air before promptly throwing herself back on the floor. "I know you're only kidding, and that what annoys me. I know Keith won't even like a girl like me, I'm too dorky and wearing my brothers sweater with the occasional dress. He probably prefers someone like Nyma," she replied bitterly. 

Lance frowned before standing up. Pidge heard some shuffling and then something beside her, so she opened her eyes and was surprised to see Lance on the floor with her. "Lance?"

He sighed and closed his eyes. "You're right. You're not Nyma. You're so much better than Nyma, and you want to know why? It's because you're you and you always have something to say or to complain about. Who cares if you wear your brothers clothes? It's basically an oversized sweater, which I'm sure everyone own one. You're not like Nyma because you're Pidge, and that's what's important." He smiled at her and Pidge felt tears pool at her eyes, so she rapidly rubbed them to get rid of the tears. 

"Thanks. I needed that." Lance just smiled at her. 

"I have sisters that think like you in this way, and I always give them advice. Glad I could help you though. But seriously, do you actually like Keith?"

Pidge froze and looked to the side, toying her one of her strands of hair. "I've denied it for long, but I think I do like Keith."

Lance sat up so fast as he gasped at her, eyes bulging out and Pidge scooted away from him. 

"Gross dude, you're scaring me."

"YOU JUST ADMITTED THAT YOU LIKE KEITH!"

"SHUT UP LANCE!"

Keith looked from his window at Pidge, who looked like she was about to strangle a very shocked and terrified Lance. 

He raised a brow in confusion before turning towards Hunk, who had come over to help him fix something up that he had broken (totally not because he threw his knife at it im accident.)

"Does Pidge ever talk about me when I'm not around?"

Hunk choked on his spit and pounded on his chest with his fist, turning to look at Keith with a surprised look on his face. "I'm sorry, did you just ask if Pidge talks about you when you're not around?"

"Well, yeah."

Hunk chuckled. "I wouldn't know, you two are always by each other's sides. Also, totally on the unrelated note but why aren't you more excited? It is your birthday week you know. Not many people can boast about being born during the same week as Halloween."

Keith shrugged. "Pidge told me the same thing a week ago when she woke me up at seven in the morning blasting Satisfied and singing along."

Hunk whistled. "At 7 AM? Damn, that's some dedication. Glad you have a girlfriend that cares about you," he teased while fixing the lamp that Keith had somehow broke with his knife. 

Keith sighed. "Yeah-wait what? No Hunk, me and Pidge are not even close to dating." 

Hunk grinned as he worked, looking over his shoulder to give Keith a sly look. "Uhuh, sure. You know I could've been talking about someone else, right? Another girl texting you at 7 AM to congratulate you on finally turning 18."

"Hunk, I literally only have you guys as friends. The rest of the senior student at Altea High are just strangers I've known for four years!" He practically screeched.

Hunk chuckled. "You just like to think of  
Pidge as your girlfriend, admit it."

Keith rolled his eyes. "No. Also, what if I did?"  
"Then I'd say try and make it happen."

Keith looked over in surprise at Hunk, doing his signature look of confusion. "What?"

Hunk shrugged. "Look, you've known Pidge since you were like six, right?"

"Five. She was five."

"Right. So all I'm saying is that if she, being a girl that went from hating you to sharing memes with you, is not the one for you then I don't know who is."

Keith pouted and looked to the side. "But she's getting all comfy with Lotor and I don't like it."

Hunk snorted. "Jealousy thy name is Keith is correct," he muttered under his breath. Keith raised a brow. 

"What?"

"Oh nothing! I'm just saying that you should maybe ask Pidge to date you or something along those lines, man. Take some risks, as Lance would say."

Keith sighed. "Sure buddy. Are you almost done? I kinda don't want my mom to know that I broke the lamp."

"Again."

"It's not even that bad!"

"Keith I had to bring in a bunch of new parts because you shattered the other ones."

"Like Rose shattered Pink Diamond?"

As if on cue, Pidge screeched and poked her head out of her window. 

"KEITH WE BOTH KNOW SHE WAS FRAMED! YELLOW DIAMOND PROBABLY DID IT!"

Hunk just looked at the two with confused glances before looking at Lance and shrugging only to see him do the same. 

"OR WHITE DIAMOND COULD'VE DONE IT! WHY ISN'T SHE THERE, WHY DID SHE MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEAR AND WHY HASN'T SHE APPEARED?"

"NO KEITH! I'M POSITIVE YELLOW DIAMOND DID IT!"

Lance groaned. "This fight again? You two literally had this argument in the lunchroom yesterday!"

"Lance, which theory do you believe?"

"None because I'm not going to overthink this stuff! It's just a tv show!"

"But if you had to?"

"...The Yellow Diamond theory. Sorry Keith, but not really. Because you're annoying."

"Same for you."

Hunk groaned. "Look, lets please not bring your arguing into this. It's too early for it."

"Hunk, it's 12."

"Still toon early. Also, where's Shiro? We're supposed to meet up with him and Allura to start assembling our plan for trick o treating tonight."

Keith sat in his chair and rolled it over towards his desk, Pidge sitting on one side of her window seat and Lance on the other. 

"About that. Aren't we, you know, too old to go trick o treating?" Asked Keith while fiddling with his knife, causing Lance and Hunk to gasp in indignation and Pidge to just shrug. 

"I'm doing it because I like candy, and this is the only time during the year that I can get it free."

"Pidge what do you mean; you've stolen your dad's credit card so much that you don't even pay for your own stuff," said Keith while eyeing her in confusion with a small smirk on his features.

Lance snorted. "You would know."

"Shut it, McClain. Also, aren't you two supposed to be working on our plan for trick o treating?"

Pidge shrugged. "I mean, we all are. We're just waiting for Allura, Shiro and Matt to come back from the store with whatever it was they needed. Oh, and Lance?"

"Yeah?"

"Is your mom going to have those huge bowls of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups out for everyone again?"

Keith raised a brow and spoke up before Lance could. "I could ask Shiro to bring some for you, you know."

Pidge grinned. "Really? Keith, this is why you're my favorite guy out of all these idiots."

Keith smirked. "I know."

Lance gasped indignantly, leaning out Pidge's window. "I'll have you know that my mom can do the same thing, Keith!"

"I didn't say she couldn't!"

"You implied it!"

Pidge rolled her eyes as Hunk just sighed. Trick of treating was going to be hella interesting.

* * *

Pidge frowned as she eyed Keith and Lance chattering, standing next to the candy bowl that Keith's mom had put out near the front entrance. 

Matt walked towards her, Shiro and Allura not far behind. "Yo Pigeon, what's with the sad face? You look depressed, which you shouldn't because it's Halloween for fucks sake!" He said while throwing his hands in the air.

Pidge adjusted her green wig and just shrugged nonchalantly while looking at the space between her feet with sudden interest. 

"Nothing." 

Matt stopped trying to joke around and a worried looked crossed over his features, his brows furrowing in concern. "Katie?"

She sighed. "Just, drop it Matt."

Shiro approached them, his smile fading when he noticed Pidge's expression. "What's wrong?"

She pouted and discreetly sent a look at Keith and Lance before looking up at Shiro and forcing a weak grin onto her face. "Nothing. How about we go trick o treating already?"

Matt frowned before looking at Keith and Lance, suddenly understanding exactly why she was upset. "Oh. _Oh._ " A shit eating grin found its way to his face as he waggled his brows at her, Pidge noticing and scowling. 

"Matt."

"Yes, dearest pining jealous sister of mine?"

"I'm giving you five seconds to run."

He snorted, watching Shiro understand what was going on. 

"You love me too much to do that. And-"

Allura casually walked up behind him, plastering a huge fake but menacing smile on her face which made both Matt and Shiro hull in fear. 

_"Boys."_

Matt immediately started sweating, Shiro gaining a concerned but low key terrified look on his face. 

"A-Allura? Is everything okay?"

She clasped her hands together, closing her eyes in the process. "I would just like to have a moment with Pidge." 

Matt and Shiro nodded before quickly walking away, heading towards Lance and Keith to escape Alllura. 

"All I'm saying is that you hooking up with Nyma is stupid, Lance."

"No, you not hooking up with Pidge is the real stupid thing here."

Keith opened his mouth to protest before he noticed Pidge being led upstairs by Allura, making him arch a brow. 

"Pidge!"

She froze and turned towards him, a wry smile on her face. "Hey Keith."

"Where are you going?"

She turned to look at Allura who sent her a reassuring smile and she just shrugged. "Allura wants to show me something. I'll be back soon though, see you in like five minutes...Ruby," she added with a small smirk while taking a jab at his costume. 

Keith pouted and crossed his arms, looking to the side while the others chuckled at the sight. Pidge just grinned before walking upstairs with Allura, presumably something about her needing to do her makeup. 

When she was out of sight, he let out a secret smile before turning around to face four smirking boys all staring at him. 

"What? Is there something on my face?" He asked while checking his face with his hand before Lance just shook his head. 

"I can see what's happening-"

Keith's eyes widened and he flushed red, crossing his arms and scowling. "Lance, if you don't stop that right now-"

"And they don't have a clue!" Continued Hunk.  
Keith looked to Shiro for help, who just shrugged and smiled. 

"I can't say anything because they have a point," said Matt when Keith turned towards him. 

"Can you guys quit it already?" Snapped Keith when Hunk and Lance started singing the rest of the song, causing them to stop and look at him with confused looks. 

"Keith?"

The mentioned boy opened the door and sat on the front porch swing, moodily eating a pack of skittles that he had stolen from Pidge's house before heading over to his. 

Shiro walked out the door and spotted him, walking towards him awkwardly since his costume was bulky. 

"Keith, are you okay?" He asked once he had settled down next to him. 

Keith shrugged and stuffed another red skittle into his mouth as he stared at the sunset. "I'm fine."

Shiro frowned. "It's okay to talk about your feelings, you know. You can't runaway from them."

Keith choked on his skittle, pounding on his chest before coughing and turning to look at Shiro with wide eyes. "You too?"

Shiro started chuckling, patting Keith's back with his left arm while smiling at him. "You're not so subtle, Keith. I mean, everyone can tell that you have a crush on Pidge."

Keith glared at him, pouting. "I hate you."

"Nah, you love me."

"Fuck you."

"Like Selena Gomez once said, 'If I were you I would do me too.''

"Why are you even listening to Selena?"

"The radio always plays shitty songs, Keith. Do I need to remind you of that one time that you got Hollaback Girl stuck in your head and accidentally started humming it in front of Pidge?"

Keith glared at him. "See? This is why Allura doesn't fucking love you."

"I beg to disagree, Keith. If she didn't love me, then why would we be getting married?" Shiro asked before his eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth. 

Keith's eyes widened and he looked at Shiro, skittles forgotten next to him. "What? You asked her already?"

Shiro grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his left arm. "Not exactly, but Allura has hinted about wanting to get married."

Keith rolled his eyes, smiling as he took the pack of skittles in his hands. "Of course she has." His gaze then returned back to Shiro, one brow raised. "So when are you going to ask her?"

Shiro shrugged, picking at the edges of his costume sleeve. "Allura always wanted a spring wedding, so I'm thinking of asking during Christmas break since we will all be together for that."

Keith snorted. "That's the most cheesiest thing that you could do."

"I'll say," came the muttered words from under Lance's breath as he turned the corner to face the other two boys. 

"Lance! How much did you hear?" Asked Shiro nervously while Keith frowned. 

Lance shrugged. "Not much, just that you're proposing during Christmas break and getting married in the spring."

"Please don't tell Allura."

Lance smiled, shaking his head. "My lips are sealed. Also, do you ship Keith and Pidge?"

Keith scowled and glared at Lance, causing Shiro to laugh and Hunk to walk outside with bags in his hands. Matt just grinned as he sipped a Capri-Sun.

They started talking amongst themselves, not noticing Allura and Pidge coming down the stairs. 

"...well I think that's good, but-"

"No no, the other neighborhood has better candy!"

"But it's full of the snotty little rich kids!"

"Exactly! Better candy quality, there's a higher chance of finding more actual Hershey bars!"

Pidge coughed and Keith turned to face her, brow raised before his eyes widened and he kicked Lance, who just jumped back and bumped into Hunk who screamed and grabbed onto Shiro's arm. Matt just shook his head, face palming. 

"Keith why the hell did you kick me?"

"It was pure instinct!"

"Well maybe you should- oh hey Pidge, you look better!" Lance said while forgetting about Keith and walking towards her with a smile on his face. 

Pidge shrugged, looking at him with her lip jutted out to the side. "I guess so? Anyways, are you guys fighting for the umpteenth time over what way we're going to collect candy?" She asked, obviously unimpressed. 

The boys looked at each other sheepishly, causing Pidge to snort. 

"I told you, I made the best plan to hunt for Halloween candy this year."

Lance raised a brow. "Oh yeah? And since when have we ever hunted for candy through the rich kids neighborhood?"

Pidge grinned. "Never. But that's going to change, because there's a shit load of great candy there."

Hunk looked at her in confusion. "How do you know that?"

She shrugged, smirking as she eyed the map that they had put together two hours ago. 

"Lotor."

Keith rapidly turned his face to look at her, the others snickering.

"Turn a little faster and your head is going to snap off your neck." Lance said, Hunk and Matt behind him trying to stifle their laughs as they saw Keith glare at them. 

Keith then sighed and turned to face Pidge, left brow raised. "How did you know that?"

Pidge pursed her lips, giving him a sly look. 

"He may or may not have mentioned something about it yesterday during class. Turns out, he tends to pass by the rich kid areas around us because they actually give out full candy bars and not those little bars with two pieces of chocolate."

Matt grinned. "You're a genius, Pigeon!"

"I know. Also, Keith stop glaring at me like I just took your knife because I didn't."

He blinked before coughing, turning away from her. "Right. So, should we uh-"

"Ugh, so does that mean that we have to see him around us while we trick o treat? That's so not fair!" Complained Lance as he stuck his third eye in the middle of his forehead. 

"This Halloween is shit already and we haven't even left my house," muttered Keith while walking down the steps as Pidge followed close behind. 

She rolled her eyes, Lance and Hunk falling in step behind her while she rolled her eyes. 

"Keith, we don't need your emoness right now. Besides, Lance, the chances of running into Lotor are like 10 out of 100."

"That's one out of ten. Not very reassuring, Pidge." Hunk muttered while Lance nodded in agreement. 

"The night has gone to shit," Lance moaned as Pidge pushed him towards Keith. 

Keith frowned. "I agree. Why did I have to dress up as Ruby and Lance as Sapphire? You know, the two gay lovers?"

"Which two gay lovers, Keith? Be specific, there's a lot of those," said Allura as her sassy side showed. Shiro chuckled and Matt cackled, Pidge rolling her eyes. 

"It makes people give you more candy. Back me up, Hunk."

He grinned sheepishly at the two scowling boys, Pidge shooting a triumphant grin at Keith to which he just ignored. 

"Pidge is right; couples tend to give trick o treaters more candy if you're wearing matching couple suits."

Keith sent him a suspicious look before pulling Hunk in front, Pidge gaping and pouting.  
"Hey! Give backing Steven!"

A simple 'no' was all that Keith said before he sped up, leaving the other five to watch in confusion. 

Shiro sighed. "This is why he wasn't allowed to be Garnet.

Pidge and Matt snorted, looking at Shiro with those incredulous looks. 

"Keith? As Garnet?"

"The world would be doomed."

Allura and Lance started laughing before the latter started talking to Shiro, leaving Lance to cautiously approach the Holt siblings who were chattering about Keith and his emoness. 

"Pidge? Can I, talk to you?"

She raised a brow before stepping up next to him, leaving Matt to just shrug and pull out his phone as he watched some random video on Instagram. 

"Pidge? Why exactly did you make me be Sapphire and Keith be Ruby?"

Pidge narrowed her eyes before looking g to the sides, adjusting her glasses before sighing and looking at Lance. 

"Look, just help a sister out, Lance. I couldn't make him Lapis because that'd just make everyone think I like him."

"Well, first of all, Keith's color isn't blue so jot that down."

"What a liar. You basically thirsted over him during the summer of freshman year when he wore a blue shirt to the graduation party my parents held."

"Pidge we don't talk about those dark moments. Also, you do like him don't you?" He asked curiously while cocking his head to the side. 

"You look stupid, Lance. Also, so what? That doesn't mean that I want to mess up my genius Halloween costume idea streak this year by not being Peridot. I'm basically her human counterpart."

Matt snorted from behind the two of them, draping an arm around her neck. "Mom ruined it for us in when you were in fourth grade, Pigeon."

Shiro burst out laughing at remembering that costume, causing Keith to stop as he and Hunk both turned in confusion to watch Shiro die of laughter. 

"You-you mean that year where Mrs. Holt made you wear matching costumes with Matt even though you were both so against it?"

At this point Pidge had flushed red, making Keith burst out laughing. 

"You mean when Matt and Pidge dressed up as Mario and Luigi for Halloween?"

Both Keith and Shiro were laughing hysterically, Pidge pouting while Allura, Lance and Hunk tried to hide their chuckles. 

They didn't notice a familiar face peek at them from around the tree on the corner of the park, four others with him. 

"They're so dumb," said Ezor as she examined her staff, Acxa fidgeting behind her as she tugged on her sleeve. 

"Why did we even dress up? It's not like they know us," said Zethrid as she observed them with a scowl on her face. 

Acxa sighed. "Don't ask me, ask Lotor. He's the one who suggested these suits anyways,"she said while lifting a brow at the yo-yo in her hand. 

Zethrid scowled, crossing her arms as Narti just shook her head. 

"Your costumes look stupid."

Ezor rolled her eyes, placing a hand on her hip. "Says the one who refused to be a character from Miraculous Ladybug and instead went with Jasper."

"Why aren't you bothering Narti? She's literally dressed as Malachite!"

"She isn't being annoying, Zethrid!"

Acxa pinched the bridge of her nose, obviously done with their bullshit. 

"Look, we don't need this. Let's just let Lotor do his charming or whatever he needs to do. And don't complain," she said while scowling at the two arguing females. 

Ezor pouted and crossed her arms, Zethrid glaring at the ground before Lotor motioned for them to follow him three blocks down where the richer part of the community lived. 

"Why are we here?" Zethrid asked impatiently while Ezor pretended to bash her staff over her head.

"We're going to collect candy from the first three houses, which always have peanut butter candy in an abundance."

Narti wrinkled her nose and Ezor nodded, shaking her head. "Don't you hate peanut butter?"

"Yes, but Katie doesn't. She loves anything with peanut butter, but detests regular peanuts."

"Oh same," said Zethrid as she allowed a small smirk to form on her face. The other three slowly got the meaning behind it before starting to chuckle, Lotor looking at them in confusion before realizing what she meant. 

"Are you serious?"

"I'm gay and proud, Lotor." 

He just shook his head in amusement before sighing and heading up the front steps with the four girls trailing behind him. 

It didn't take long for them to reach their goal of five houses as they sat at the corner to wait for Pidge and her friends, Acxa and Ezor talking about who had the upper hand in battle with their 'weapons.'

Lotor looked at them in amusement before he heard voices coming down the street, recognizing one immediately. Katie.

He immediately stood up, causing the other four to stop talking at look at him as he looked for Katie. 

"Come on you four, we need to pretend like we're just coming out of a house so they aren't suspicious," Lotor said hurriedly. Ezor sighed before smirking down at Acxa. 

"Come on, Anti-Bug," she said mockingly. Acxa just rolled her eyes, warily eyeing Ezor's staff. 

"Whatever, Volpina." Acxa said as she helped Zethrid up, Zethrid helping Narti up. The four them made their way towards Lotor, waiting for Pidge and her friends to make their way around the corner. 

"I'm just saying, I don't get why people don't give out Reese's Pieces! Like, is it that hard to buy a pack to give to the peanut butter deprived child?" Moaned Pidge as she threw an arm on her face while the other help her half full bag of candy. 

Keith rolled his eyes affectionately before patting her back, shooting her a sympathetic smile. "We can always ask Lance's mom for the rest."

"My mom would definitely give you more Reese's Pieces, Pidge. She loves you, sometimes I think even more than me!" He said jokingly while laughing awkwardly, Allura and Shiro sharing worried glances. 

"It's Pearl's saltiness scaring everyone away so they're not giving us that much candy," Pidge concluded while Allura gasped offendedly. 

"It's not me! It's probably all the bickering that Lance and Keith are doing!"

Matt nodded, smirking as he remembered something. "Even the ladies at the doors said that Keith and Pigeon make a cute couple," he said teasingly while watching Pidge and Keith flush red. 

Hunk smiled at the sight before looking up and gasping. "Is this the rich kids area?"

Pidge looked up and Lance whistled, admiring all the decorations that adorned the street. 

"This is fucking wild." Muttered Keith as he stared at the rows of lights adorning all the houses as they interlaced in the middle go form a giant cat design at the top. 

"Language," warned Shiro but even he was in awe of how extra these neighborhoods were. Allura just gave the street an uneasy and skeptical look, waving her hand. 

"Coran did better on our street."

Shiro chuckled as Keith motioned for them to follow him, Pidge walking next to him as he decided what house to go to first before giving up. 

"Keith, let me do this."

"Fine."

She pouted while examining the houses, putting a finger up when she got an idea. "I've got it! Let's start at the end of the street, because most of the trick o treaters will have started with the front houses. Most people don't go all the way down the street, but guess what?"

Keith grinned. "We're not most people."

"Marry me Keith, this is why you're my right hand man."

He flushed slightly, rolling his eyes in an attempt to stop blushing. 

"Gross," whispered Zethrid from her hiding place down the street. Ezor just sent Lotor a knowing look before Lotor grinned, clearly absorbing everything. 

The group watched Keith motion for his friend group to follow him, Lotor snorting. 

"It's like he's trying to protect her from an unknown threat."

"Aren't we the unknown threat to him?"

"Be careful, Lotor could be around here." They heard Pidge burst out laughing and the others sigh but laugh at Keith's paranoia. 

Ezor looked at Lotor expectantly, who was just grinning. "So I've already made him hate me? Our plan will be easier to complete at this rate."

"Lotor! They're heading this way!" Acxa said while her brows furrowed. 

Lotor smirked. "Perfect." He motioned for them to follow him, the girls following him as he headed down the street towards Pidge and her friends. 

Keith stopped walking when he noticed a group walking towards him and his friends, instinctively putting his hand to his pocket. He was not going to let anyone get hurt on Halloween again. Not while he was around to stop it. 

Pidge noticed and calmly placed a hand on his arm, shaking her head with a small smile on her face. "Keith. Knife down."

He pouted but reluctantly relented, instead clenching and unclenching his left hand. Pidge didn't let go of his arm. 

When the group finally came into view, there were many mixed reactions. First was Keith, who went from shock to annoyance when he realized how exactly was under the Chat Noir mask. 

"Lotor?" Pidge asked, a hand still on Keith's arm while she raised a surprised brow. Lotor blinked, furrowing his brows before realizing who she was. 

"Katie? My, what a surprise to see you here!"

Lance let out an audible sigh when Lotor and his group started approaching them, only stopping when he noticed that he wasn't alone. 

"Walking shampoo comercial has friends other than us shady gang?" He half whispered, half shouted into Hunk's ear. 

Shiro looked at Allura, who looked absolutely annoyed with Lotor's presence. 

Upon reaching them, Lotor flashed Pidge a smile as she took her hand off of Keith's arm, causing him to pout. 

"Yeah. We didn't really expect to see you here either, even though you did tell me that you do tend to hunt for candy in this area." Pidge said, sending him a crooked smile. 

Lotor chuckled. "I didn't expect to see you at all. Also, your costume is absolutely genius!"

Pidge grinned. "I know, I chose it."

Keith sent her a bored expression. "Yeah, but everyone had to officially agree before you said yes."

"Keith, don't ruin my moment."

Ezor snorted from her position next to Lotor, sending Zethrid a sneaky glance with a smirk on her face. "At least she can pull of a Steven Universe cosplay, unlike some people I know."

Matt audibly snorted before he was whacked in the back of the head by Shiro. Ezor just grinned triumphantly as she snuck a glance at Zethrid, who looked like she wanted nothing more than to smash her to bits. 

Pidge glanced at the group before looking down the street. "Well, while it was uh nice to see you, we still have a lot of houses to visit."

Keith nodded, pulling her along. "Come on-"

"Did you find any houses that offer you an assorted variety of peanut butter flavored candy yet?" Asked Lotor with a grin on his face that showed that he had purposely tried to cut Keith off. 

Keith raised his hand exasperatedly, Lance snorting from behind him. "Good luck, man."

Pidge sighed dejectedly. "Not yet, sadly. There were only like three houses that offered any candy with peanut butter flavoring."

Lotor raised a brow. "You know, around this area they tend to give out a lot of peanut butter flavored candy. I could show you where and I could get you more than the usual they give out since I'm well liked by well, everyone here," he said while chuckling deeply. 

Pidge's eyes gleamed, a grin finding its way to her face. "Really?"

"Yes, Katie. Join me to the end of the street?" He asked while beckoning her over. 

Pidge shot Keith and Shiro a pleading look, Matt just standing there so shocked before Keith frowned and turned away from her. Shiro sent her a sympathetic smile at seeing her shoulders seemingly sag a little before clearing his throat. 

"We'll be right behind you, Pidge. You go ahead."

She sent one last confused and almost sad look before walking towards one of the houses with Lotor and his female gang. Keith looked up once he was sure that she couldn't see him, hearing the really cheerful girl give praise and tell Pidge how cute she looked in her Peridot outfit. 

"I could've told you that," he muttered under his breath. Matt raised a brow and motioned Shiro to do something about him, but he just shrugged. 

"I can't do anything about his jealousy, Matt."

"The correct term would be jealousy they name is Keith," replied Lance while Allura chuckled. 

"Cheer up Keith, she's not marrying him or something." Hunk said while smiling in Keith's general direction. 

Keith just pouted and followed Pidge across the street, and that's basically what they did for the rest of the half hour that they spent in the rich kid neighborhood. 

By the end of their little hunt, Pidge had accumulated a full bag which was half full of regular candy (she liked it but she was probably going to give the majority of it to Keith) and the other half was full of an assortment of peanut butter flavored candy. 

She parted ways with Lotor after they had finished collecting candy from all the houses on that block, waving a goodbye and saying a 'thanks' before heading towards Keith and everyone else. 

Lotor walked back towards the area where his car was secretly parked, Ezor and Acxa looking at each other before Acxa lost her stoic demeanor and pushed Ezor out of the way and jumped in the front seat. Ezor pouted and Acxa returned to her stoic demeanor before closing the door, Lotor just rolling his eyes before jumping in the drivers seat. 

Once everyone was inside, Ezor grinned as she leaned on Lotor's seat, placing her chin on the top near his ear. "So, what came out of this whole little trick o treating thingy?"

Lotor sent her a grin. "Well, we learned that Keith hates me. Also, Katie really cares about his opinion on things."

Ezor chuckled. "Yeah! Did you see how sad she looked when Keith didn't say yes or no? Man, she's crushing on him hard!"

Lotor's lips twitched at that, curling up into a smirk. "It seems so. Whatever the case may be, I know exactly when to start unleashing our plan."

"Why exactly do we need the Holt girl for this?" Asked Acxa while raising a brow. 

Lotor was about to speak before Ezor interrupted him, making him shut up. 

"Don't be stupid, Acxa! If Katie gets involved with our plan we can learn more news about prom even after Lotor ends his project with her by the end of the semester. She's an important part to our plan which is set to take place during prom, remember?" 

Acxa looked to the side and shrugged. "Alright."

Lotor sent Ezor an appreciative grin before Zethrid groaned, Narti rolling her eyes. 

"It's going to take so long until prom! I have to wait months before I can set off the bombs, and I'm impatient!"

Lotor chuckled. "Easy, Zethrid. It will be worth it in the end."

She huffed before sighing back, crossing her arms. "It better."

They drove off into the night, the car lights dimming as they turned the corner.

* * *

Pidge walked down her street, happily stuffing another Reese's Peanut Butter Cup into her mouth. "Keith, want some?"

Said boy just shook his head as he looked ahead, making her roll her eyes. "Not this again. We literally did this last week, Keith."

Lance snickered from behind them, leaning down to whisper into Matt's ear. "When Keith is playing hard to get, she acts all pissed but she secretly thinks it's hot."

Matt snickered. "That's my sister, you asshole."

"You can't disagree with me though."

Matt shrugged. "You have a point there." The two then proceeded to laugh, leaving everyone else in confusion. 

Keith continued walking, eyes set in a hard glare at their upcoming street. "I'm not doing anything."

"Keith you little shit I am not doing this again so either you talk to me our you're becoming my punching bag during my period."

Keith along with the others except Allura winced, Allura just grinning. 

Keith sighed. "Fine. I'm talking. Are you happy?"

Pidge shrugged. "I don't know; I might just ask you to shut up again."

Keith gaped at her, eyes wide before she started laughing like crazy. 

"It's a joke Keith, jeez!" She said while wiping the tear that had found its way out of her left eye. Keith pouted and crossed his arms, Pidge snickering at his expression. 

"I knew that."

"Yeah yeah sure Keith. But seriously, lighten up and don't be so worried over Lotor. It's going to take a lot more than just giving me peanut butter flavored candy to get me on his side." She said while sending him a crooked smile. 

Something inside his stomach fluttered as he stared at her as the Halloween lights that were hung around the trees and the lit jack-o-lantern that she had stolen from someone's yard illuminated her face, making her eyes sparkle, her face glowing. 

_Damn. I've fallen so badly._

He just settled for a smile. "That's true, you don't take shit from anyone."

Pidge grinned. "See? Now don't be so worried, and let's go home so we can eat all the snacks that Hunk made before we left because frankly I'm starving."

Keith returned the grin, Pidge stuffing another piece of candy in her mouth. As they walked, she gave him a discreet, sly grin before lifting her leg to kick him from behind. 

His eyes widened and he looked behind him, noticing nothing there before she sent Pidge an 'are you serious' expression. She shrugged innocently while pretending to observe her jack-o-lantern, Keith rolling his eyes before he grinned and kicked her like she had done to him, causing her to gasp and pout in his direction. 

"I know that was you, Keith."

"Uh sorry what? I don't listen to liars."

She snorted. "Now you have a sense of humor. You are one mysterious boy, neighbor."

Keith grinned. "So are you, neighbor."

They smiled at each other before walking in peaceful silence towards Keith's house, not noticing that the rest of their group had stopped following them since Pidge had started talking to him. 

Allura sighed. "They really are so bling. Huh?" She turned to face Matt, who was just pretending to sniff and wipe a tear. "What are you doing, Matt?"

"Keith is growing up and so is Katie, I don't think we're ready for all the PDA that will come with it," he said while finishing off his statement with a smirk. 

Lance snorted. "They're probably going to be 80 when they finally realize that they like each other an 100 before they do something about it."

Hunk raised a brow. "Wouldn't they be dead by then?"

Lance shook his head. "No, because you and I both know that Pidge and Keith are so spiteful. What do you wanna bet that if they were diagnosed with a few more days of life they would just say 'challenge accepted' and live until 150 years of age?"

Matt nodded. "That seems like something they would do."

Lance grinned. "See? Even Matt agrees! So when Keith and Pidge finally confess, I hope that Keith doesn't faint like Hunk did when Shay confessed to him."

"Hey!"

They all started laughing, Matt stopping as he grinned watching Pidge from afar. 

"Watch Keith be a red stuttering mess 'uh...I like you too!' And Katie is just going to go 'ooh Keith, thanks for loving me back!'' He said while clutching his hands together and putting them up to his heart, fluttering his lashes. 

Shiro chuckled, waving his hands. "Guys, calm down. When they feel ready they'll confess. But for now, they're good where they are." He looked after Keith, who seemed so damn happy with Pidge that he had a gut feeling that she was going to be the one for his younger brother. 

"They're perfectly fine where they are now."

Matt snorted, playfully sending Shiro a teasing smirk. "You're such a dad, Shiro."

They all laughed before jogging to catch up to Keith and Pidge, all happy that the night had turned out better than expected. This was going down in Lance's book as 'The Pining Kidge Halloween Story.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOP FINALLY READY! Thank you for all of those who sent me happy birthday wishes, I had one of the best birthdays ever. Thanks for reading as usual, hope you enjoyed! And for those of you wondering, the fans costumes were as following:  
> Shiro as Garnet, Allura as Pearl, Keith as Ruby, Pidge as Peridot, Lance as Sapphire, Hunk as Steven and Matt as Amethyst.   
> From Lotor's gang: Lotor as Chat Noir, Ezor as Volpina, Acxa as Anti-Bug, Zethrid as Jasper and Narti as Malachite.


	10. I Already Hate You And That's Not Going To Change

Lance considered himself to be a good guy. 

Sure he flirted with practically anyone who had two legs, but what was the point of having dashing good looks if he couldn't even use them? Despite all the flirting, he respected women and men for who they were personality wise instead of their looks.

So he didn't understand why Nyma was being such a -pardon his French- bitch when he approached her. 

"Aw c'mon Nyma! You can't seriously think that Lotor has better hair and looks that I do!"

She shrugged and sent him a fake smile. "I believe what I do, Lance. Also, stop bugging me. I have places to be." With a peace sign she walked down the stairs in the direction of the school gymnasium while Lance just scowled. 

"Stupid Lotor."

When retelling the story to his friend group later during their lunch period, Keith and Pidge burst out laughing. Hunk just sighed. 

"Didn't she steal your wallet when you invited her to watch you at your swimming meet?"

"I told you Lance, Nyma is a bitch."

Keith chuckled. "I have to agree with Pidge, Lance. She's literally dated every guy in our year except Lotor. She's probably going for him next," he joked. 

Pidge stopped laughing as an odd look came over her face, turning to look at Keith with a perplexed expression. "Did you just make a joke about Lotor that didn't involve killing him?"

Lance and Hunk both whipped their heads around so fast as they stared at Keith with those suspicious looks. 

"Who are you and what have you done with Keith?" Asked Hunk while squinting one eye as Lance observed Keith. 

Keith threw his arms up exasperatedly, eyeing Hunk with an incredulous look. "Dude, it's me, Keith! I am your friend!"

Standing up, Lance crossed his arms and pouted while in thought. "How can we be sure that you're the real Keith?"

Pidge snorted. "Check his hair since you're so obsessed with it."

Lance walked towards Keith, taking his hair in his fingers before inspecting it and letting it go. "Ugh, it is Keith. Same horrible mullet with strangely good hair texture."

"I don't know wether I should be offended or not."

Shiro sighed. "I feel like I'm watching a bunch of children."

"Shiro, we're teenagers. Emphasis on teen," supplied Pidge while skimming through her papers before groaning and throwing them up in the air. 

Keith raised a brow, putting his juice down as he looked over at her. "What's wrong?"

Pidge frowned. "So you know how I'm doing that project with Lotor right?"

Keith nodded. "Yeah?"

"I'm trying to point out the flaws of his work that he gave me today which is the first part of our project because you know, we're supposed to write an at least ten page story-"

Lance gave her a look. "You're rambling." He said. She scowled at him. 

"I know now shut up and let me continue. So before this asshole interrupted me-"

"Language, Pidge."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Whatever. So before these two interrupted me, I was saying that I'm running a test to see how much Lotor messes up on our project so I can request Keith as my partner because Keith is great in English."

Keith rubbed the back of his neck, slightly blushing. "Thanks?"

She sent him a small smile before scowling again. "So back to the issue. Lotor thinks he's so perfect so I went, 'why not see how badly he messes up when I give him the first part of our project so he can write it?' He accepts and it's all fine, but as I'm reading it now I can't find any mistakes."

Hunk smiled at her while looking confused. "Maybe you missed one?"

"Hunk, I'm my own beta reader. I'm a grammar queen when it comes to projects because believe it or not, I actually care about my grades!" She said while raising her arms up in the air. Keith snorted. 

"I think Lance thinks that you and me don't care about our grades."

Lance rolled his eyes. "I do not think that, you fucking mullet head."

Shiro sighed. "Can any of you go a day without saying profanities?"

Pidge glared at him. "What do you want me to say, uh oh spaghetti o's? Is that what you want, Shiro?" She crossed her arms and looked straight into his eyes, Shiro merely blinking. 

"Are you making a joke based off of your own heritage?"

"So what if I am?"

Keith gave her a weird look. "Why would you say that when you can just say fuck?"

"Keith!" 

Pidge struggled to hide her grin, crossing her legs on the desk she was sitting on. "That's true. But like my mom said, I need to 'embrace my Italian roots." She said while making quotation marks with her fingers. 

Lance snorted. "Just eat pasta to be a true Italian."

Keith raised a brow. "Not sure that's how being Italian works. Also, saying 'uh oh spaghetti o's' doesn't make you embrace your Italian roots, Pidge."

She shrugged. "Whatever. It'll just be our secret code for when I'm in trouble."

Hunk stood up, throwing his plate in the trash before turning around and smiling. "Hate to break the party up, but, aren't we here to help Shiro set up the class for robotics club after school?"

Shiro grinned. "This is why you're my favorite one out of this group."

Keith and Lance both snorted and sent each other wary looks. Shiro noticed and he furrowed one brow while raising the other as he put his arms on his hips. "What?"

Keith just shrugged and continued sipping his juice, nudging Lance who sighed and shook his head. Pidge looked at the two with a confused look on her face, turning towards Keith for an explanation. 

Lance glanced at Keith. "So do I tell him or do you?"

"Obviously you because if I tell him he's going to say that I'm being biased since I live with him."

"That's true. Well, I'll say it then." Lance hooked down from the desk, folding his hands being his back before shaking his head and walking towards Shiro. 

"Shiro, my bufftastic amazing space dad, we need to talk."

Shiro raised a brow. "Space dad?"

Hunk chuckled. "It's cute right? We figured that since you're majoring in Astronomy we might as well call you space dad."

Shiro looked at Pidge who just shrugged. "You are the dad friend, Takashit."

Shiro pouted. "Am not."

"Are too. Also, Lance, continue talking. I want to see what you guys have to say and if I won't have to smack a bitch with my fucking Italian noodle later."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Lance just say it."

Lance let out a long sigh, shrugging his shoulders. "Alright. Well, it's just that Hunk being your favorite child is utter bullshit, Shiro."

Shiro gave him a perplexed look. "I don't have a favorite one out of all of you though."

Hunk gave him a look. "Oh you definitely do. Just a hint, it's one of us, and it's not me."

Lance shook his head. "I don't understand how you can favor Pidge over Hunk, Shiro. She's a demon!" He said while throwing his arms up in the air and pointing at her. 

Pidge shrugged. "I'm not even going to deny that I'm a demon."

Keith grinned. "Lance, you can't possibly think that she's offended by you calling her a demon, right? This is Pidge we're talking about."

Shiro was about to talk when the door banged open and they all recoiled in shock before Matt grinned, flashing a peace sign up as he held the door open for Allura. 

"Sup."

Allura came through the door with five boxes piled on top of each other, rolling her eyes when Matt bowed after she had entered the room. 

"Matt, I could've opened the door by myself you know."

Matt shrugged. "That's true, but Shiro would've gotten mad at me for not opening the door for his girlfriend." He said while he sent Shiro a bored expression. 

Shiro blushed slightly, Allura smiling in a amusement. 

"Shiro, you and I both know that I can handle myself."

"I was raised to do the right thing, so it's sort of a habit." He admitted sheepishly, Pidge raising a brow. 

"How adorably disgusting." Matt snickered from next to her, a grin forming on Pidge's face before she crossed her arms. 

"Allura you look like you wanna say something."

Allura grinned. "I saw one of Lotor's friends being escorted out of the school."

Keith frowned, looking at Allura in confusion. "A girl or boy?"

Allura sat down, pushing a box out of her way. "A large male friend; I believe his name was Sendak? Any who, he was snooping around in the basement and taking measurements. Me and Matt spotted him-"

"Allura totally didn't sneak up from behind him and tackle him before putting him in a choke hold, nope." 

Allura flushed a slight shade of pink, the rest of them sitting there with confused expressions. 

Lance was the first one to speak. "Allura did what now?"

Matt bit into an apple that he had stolen from Pidge's plate, lazily leaning on a desk with a lazy look on his face. "Yeah, Allura held him in a chokehold. I called Coran and security to come see what he was doing before Coran ruled it as 'disruptive behavior.' It was funny though, Allura held him down while shooting questions at him as if she was a cop!" He said while laughing at the last bit. 

Hunk blinked before turning towards Allura. "Are you an alien? Because Sendak is huge, man. Er, woman? Eh. The point is, how did you manage to take him down and hold him in a choke hold for the half hour that you were gone?"

Allura shrugged, braiding her hair as she spoke. "It wasn't so hard. I'm convinced that he wears shoulder pads just to look more buff because he definitely isn't as strong as he seems."

Lance raised a brow. "You have super strength or something?"

Pidge grinned. "Allura, you have to teach me how to hold someone in a chokehold. It could come in handy, you know."

Lance smirked before turning and whispering in Hunk's ear. "Maybe she should teach Shiro so she can go 'choke me daddy-OW! ALLURA!" Lance complained as Allura pinched his ear, Shiro a bright shade of red in the background. 

Keith smirked. "First Nyma, now Allura. How many more rejections do you need today?"

Lance groaned. "I don't know what it is about me that they don't like. I have an amazing personality!"

Pidge got up and threw her plate in the trash, Keith watching her from the corner of his eye. 

"Maybe if you didn't use lame pickup lines and acted like an actual gentleman they wouldn't run away from you."

Lance pouted. "They just don't know what a true man looks like. Also, did you guys hear about Shay?"

Hunk furrowed his brows. "What about her?"

Keith sighed and shook his head. "I heard. It's only the third month of school and so much drama happened."

Pidge raised a brow while sitting down next to Allura. "What happened to her?"

"Apparently, her boyfriend that she had dated since sophomore year ended his relationship with her because she wasn't acting like she did back in sophomore year." Lance supplied while frowning. 

Allura frowned. "How did she act in sophomore year?"

Pidge crossed her arms. "She was a badass with ripped jeans and overly confident. She was extremely popular too, but toward sthe end of junior year she started changing into this sweeter person. I hate people like her boyfriend," she said while scowling. 

Keith nodded. "Me too."

Lance shook his head. "That's not even half of it. Apparently she wanted to stop dating him but he like manipulated her or something into staying with him until she finally broke up with him over the summer. He tried something with her too, so her grandma is considering calling the cops on him."

Pidge gave a small smile. "Good. That fucker doesn't deserve to be roaming around. I'd hate if anyone tried to change me into something I wasn't." She said while shoving her hands into her pockets. 

Allura shook her head. "Poor child."

Shiro sighed. "This is why you don't date when you're in high school."

Keith gave him an incredulous look. "Shiro, you dated two girls in freshman year before hooking up with Allura a year and a half later."

Shiro shrugged. "That's true. But still, you need to choose who you date carefully. Otherwise you'll end up like Shay."

Hunk scowled. "Shay deserved better than him."

Pidge and Lance looked at him in shock before grinning. 

"Hunk, my best bud and platonic love of my life?"

Hunk stopped scowling to look up at Lance with a confused expression. "What?"

Pidge grinned. "You wouldn't happen to have a crush on Shay, would you?"

Hunk recoiled as if someone had shocked him, eyes wide and cheeks flushed while Keith remained with a bored expression on his face. 

"No I don't."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Hunk's been talking about her nonstop since he got paired up with her for a science experiment back in September. It's cute, but the pining. So torturous to watch." He said while giving Hunk an amused smile. 

Everyone except Pidge shot him an 'are you serious' face while Pidge just raised a brow in confusion and Keith raised his brows in surprise. 

"What?"

Matt just snorted. "Yeah imagine that pining being torturous to watch."

Shiro crossed his arms. "So torturous."

Pidge jut her lip out to the side and shrugged when Keith looked at her in confusion. 

Allura coughed, eyes darting between Keith and Pidge while Hunk and Lance just nodded in agreement. 

Pidge just shook her head before turning towards Shiro, ignoring Allura who had started braiding her hair. 

"Shiro, let me see the list of everyone who signed up for the club."

Shiro passed her a clipboard, Pidge reaching for a pen to point at the names with. She raised a brow when she only saw one sheet. 

"Only one sheet? Didn't you say that a lot of kids signed up?"

Shiro nodded. "They did. But we had to do a background check to check who was eligible to attend."

Lance put his hands up. "Woah woah woah hold up. You have to be eligible and handpicked to attend?"

Shiro shrugged. "That's what we were told to do, so we followed the instructions."

Pidge raised a brow. "You put us in groups?" 

Just as Shiro was about answer her question, Allura stood up and put a hand on her hip. She grinned. "Done!"

Pidge scrunched her brows in confusion before looking back, a surprised look on her face at seeing the braid draped over her shoulder. "We're matching." Was all that she said before Allura grinned. 

"That was the point."

Matt grinned. "Looks nice." Spotting Keith who was blushing a lot, he smirked. "Hey Keith, what do you say?"

Pidge snapped her neck around to face him, the others just grinning in anticipation. 

Keith shrugged, praying that his blush wasn't noticeable. "The braid looks nice." Pidge flushed a pretty shade of pink, nodding. 

"Kind of sappy, aren't you Keith?" Was what she said after noticing her brothers knowing look. _I'm going to kill you Matthew fucking Holt._

Keith blinked before rolling his eyes. "Please. What's sappy is Allura and Shiro sitting at the dinner table."

Lance snorted. "I can imagine it now. 'Shiro, mi corazón, pass the salt please?' 'Of course my sweet cookie." He said while dramatically pulling his hands up to his heart. 

Keith chuckled. "That's basically how it is, though Allura doesn't say 'mi corazón'. At all."

Pidge grinned. "So when Allura asks Shiro to pass the salt, does he pass you?"

Keith shook his head. "No, they can't pass the salt around because you're not there." He replied while Hunk looked at them in amusement. 

"So rude Keith."

"Likewise, Holt."

Pidge chuckled in amusement before turning back towards the list, brows furrowing as she read the names. 

"Shiro these people are all like really smart. Wait a minute. HOLY SHIT I HATE YOU!" She screamed before throwing the clipboard on the desk as if it were deadly. 

Keith looked up in alarm, Lance scrunching his brows in confusion before having a realization. 

"Oh shit."

"What? What is it?"

Pidge turned towards Shiro, teeth clenched as she glared at him. "I told you how much I hated him but you accepted him anyway? What the hell Shiro?!"

An unsettling feeling settled in Keith's stomach as he saw her get visibly upset, Lance and Hunk looking at each other worriedly. 

Allura frowned and tried to reassure the younger girl, Pidge just frowning and glaring at the floor. 

"Pidge, we don't like him either but we had no choice. His grades are phenomenal and he has good skills; we couldn't just turn him away."

Pidge sighed. "I don't want to have to see Lotor everyday after school, Allura. I was so happy because I could finally go to a club that I was sure he wasn't going to be at, but now I find out that you guys accepted him? I'm hurt." She said while hugging herself. 

Keith frowned, Allura and everyone looking at him for help before he stood up and walked towards her. "Pidge."

She snapped her head up, face visibly relaxing when she saw it was him. "What?"

Keith sighed. "You know I'm not a big fan of Lotor. I hate him as much as you do, but you and I both know that Altea University set those standards up, not Allura, Shiro or Matt. They're just following their instructions. Let's just be happy that you aren't in his group, because if you were then I'd say you have a right to be pissed."

He gave her a reassuring smile before Pidge sighed, griping her left arm with her right. "You're right. Thanks Keith." She said before sending him a smile of her own. 

They didn't notice Lance pulling out his phone and snapping a picture, silently cackling as he added it to his 'Kidge' folder. Hunk sent him an amused glance as Allura, Shiro and Matt let out relieved sighs. 

Pidge turned to face them, pointing at them accusingly. "You're still not off the hook though."

The three sighed, Keith just cracking a smile. He was internally crying at the fact that Lotor would be with them after school, but he had to hide that. For Pidge.

* * *

Zethrid picked at the corner of her paper, glaring at the back of Shiro's head. "I hate this."

Narti shook her head, Acxa just putting a finger up to her lip to silence the taller girl. 

Zethrid scowled. "Don't tell me to shut up, I'll talk whenever I want! Besides, nothing's happening!"

Hunk sent them a wary look from across the room, Acxa face palming. 

"Zethrid, can you try and not be so loud? Just until Lotor gets here?"

Ezor walked in, waving at Shiro before plopping down next to Acxa. "Lotor is so going to regret doing this. Wanna know a secret?"

Acxa raised a brow. "What secret?"

Ezor grinned before ducking her head down, lowering her voice and motioning the others to do the same. "Lotor thinks that Katie is cute."

Acxa shot her head up so fast that she bumped heads with Narti, both girls hissing before Pidge looked over at them with a confused face.   
The two brought their heads down as Ezor continued speaking, Pidge raising a brow before turning back towards her group. 

"So what's up with them?" 

Lance shrugged. "They're new to Altea High this year too. But they're cute," he remarked while observing Ezor. 

Hunk shook his head. "Dude, no. You're better off with someone else."

Lance pouted. "Why not though?"

Keith snorted. "They're too good to get tangled up with your fuckboy tendencies."

Pidge choked on her juice, coughing as Keith looked at her in alarm before rapidly patting her back. 

"Holy shit Pidge are you okay?"

Pidge stopped coughing, pounding on her chest as she waved him off. "I'm fine, Keith. I don't know if Lance can recover after being called a fuckboy, though." She remarked while watching Lance pout and look to the side. 

"I'm not a fuckboy."

Pidge snorted. "Sure, Jan. And fuck that hurts!" 

Keith winced. "Sorry."

She rolled her eyes. "Stop apologizing, I hate apologies. You know that."

Keith grinned sheepishly before Lotor walked in, Ezor clapping while shaking her head. 

"There he is, the man of the hour!"

Shiro looked up as Lotor walked towards him, grinning while handing him a coffee. 

"Hello, sir. My name is Lotor, and I figured that bringing you a coffee would be a great greeting for such a man as yourself."

Keith gagged, Lance rolling his eyes and turning his head away while Hunk just groaned and put his head down. Pidge kept looking with a small grin, waiting to see Shiro's reaction. 

Shiro blinked before giving Lotor a noted expression. "I can finally set some rules now. Rule number one; don't bother sucking up because I already hate you and that not going to change. Now go sit."

Lotor smirked as he walked towards his seat, Pidge grinning at Shiro who had a shit eating grin on his face. 

As he walked past Pidge, Lotor looked down at her and smiled. "Nice braid. Looks cute."

Pidge stopped grinning as she stared at him blankly, Lotor smiling before she finally managed to mumble out the words 'thank you.' Lotor just nodded before walking towards his table where all the girls were. 

Keith scoffed. "Still want to date one of them, Lance?"

Lance pouted. "That's so not fair. But it kinda makes sense. They all have that 'pretty but dangerous' look on their faces."

Lotor smirked. "So you think I'm pretty?" He called out while Ezor chuckled and Keith furrowed his brows as he pointedly looked away from Lotor. 

Lance gasped, sputtering out a response as his cheeks reddened. "I do not think you're pretty at all! You're hair is probably greasy as fuck!"

Zethrid snorted. "Yeah sure, believe what you want. His daily hour hair routine surely leaves his hair greasy." She replied sarcastically. 

Lotor shrugged. "I'm not interested in you anyways." He caught Pidge's gaze and sent her a wink, this causing her to flush a slight shade of pink. _What the hell?_

Keith scowled, only stopping when Shiro cleared his throat. 

"Alright, now that everyone's here I can finally begin. Here are the rules. Rule number one as you already know, is that don't bother sucking up because I already hate you and that's not going to change. Rule number two: no PDA in the robotics classroom. Rule number three: do not bother Allura or Matt with problems that you can fix by yourself for your projects. And finally, rule number four:Have some fun, but not too much fun. We are grading your projects, after all. Any questions?"

Lance shot his hand up. Shiro sighed. "Yes, Lance?"

"Can we make jokes about other people?"

Shiro sighed again. "If I can't hear it then sure do what you want. If I hear it, you get minus one point from your grade for your project."

He turned away, a smile on his face. "Now anyone else?"

Pidge raised her hand, Shiro raising a brow before calling on her. "Pidge?"

Lotor raised a brow when he called her 'Pidge,' his girl group just snorting as they waited for what she had to say. 

"What if the joke is really really funny?"

Everyone in the class chuckled, Lotor closing his eyes and shaking his head in amusement. Ezor poked Acxa, who just sighed and nodded while raising a brow and looking at Lotor. 

Shiro groaned. "Just. Don't let me hear it, okay? Now on to assignments. Each group has four to five people in it. Your group will work together to complete your project of creating a robot for this year's science convention. Allura?"

She smiled and stood up, all of the boys eyes immediately on her. She rolled her eyes. "My eyes are up here." She said while pointing at said eyes. 

She cleared her throat, standing next to Shiro and squeezing his hand. "As Shiro was saying; you five will create as many robots as you please but you must have one that is presentable for the Altea University Science Fair that will take place during May 30th. The design must be original and not a knock off of something else. And the most important thing is-"

"You can't steal someone else's designs, guys. That's just rude." Said Matt from where he was sitting. 

Allura rolled her eyes while smiling, clearly amused. "Thank you, Matt. So now that we cleared all that up, you may talk and plan out what you are going to do. You have this entire week to plan, but remember that time passes quickly and you must use it wisely." She ended her speech with a smile before walking towards Matt and sitting down next to him, Shiro doing the same. 

The noise started again with everyone talking, but Keith just looked at Lotor out of the side of his eye. He hated how Lotor always seemed to be glancing back at Pidge; looking like he was a lion and she was the fresh meat he was going to attack. 

Pidge called his name out, eyes sparkling as she stared up at him. Keith smiled and was drawn into the conversation, pushing aside his thoughts about Lotor for a second just to talk to her. Pidge was his, and he was not going to let Lotor get to her. 

Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop woop, chapter up early! Now I can get that good ten hour sleep because I feel like my eyeballs are dying lolol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	11. Leave My Heart Out Of This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezor was an expert on her fellow squad members, so she knew when something was up. The latest something? Lotor's growing crush on a certain Holt. And no it was not Matthew Holt.

Ezor considered herself to be a charming person. She easily made friends, but she also easily manipulated them into doing what she wanted. She was what the kids called 'two faced'; she was both salty and sweet. Being a perfect mix of the two had got her noticed by Lotor, and he had invited her to join his 'squad.'

The squad was composed of Acxa, Zethrid, Narti, Lotor and herself. They had known each other since freshman year, and all five had changed since then. It wasn't all necessarily for the better, though. 

Lotor was like their boss or something; he demanded power and reeked of superiority. His second in command was Acxa. Acxa was uh, confusing to Ezor for a while. She always retreated to her books and rambled about science things, but overtime Ezor got used to it and looked forward to spending time with her. 

Zethrid was the tallest and strongest person in their group. She was bulky, all of it being muscle that she had accumulated from spending hours in the gym. Narti was the quiet one, only speaking the few occasional words. She was next to blind, without her glasses she couldn't see anything, but that didn't stop her from landing a solid punch into the one guy who bullied her for it back during sophomore year. She also had a weird cat, but Ezor would never say it to her face. 

Ezor had spent three years with these people, so she naturally knew when something changed in their behavior. Like Acxa, for instance. When Acxa was mad she generally tended to tap her foot and when she was upset she would look pissed but you could always see the corners of her lips pulling back as if she was trying not to cry.

She knew all her squad members inside out, memorizing their personalities. Acxa was the serious one, occasionally cracking a joke when she felt like it. Zethrid just really loved violence in general and always jumped at the opportunity to fight. She was also the most stubborn one in their group. Narti was silent but dangerous. Lotor was the charming but manipulative one. Perhaps that's why he was their leader. 

Ezor was fond of Lotor, and he was fond of her too. She was the one that helped him make plans for certain things, like when she helped him pick out his Halloween costume. (A big hit with the ladies, if she did say so herself by the way.)  So naturally, she noticed how he seemed to go soft whenever he mentioned a certain Holt. And no, it was not Matthew Holt.

"And then the tall blonde girl dropped her purse and tried to get Lotor to pick it up, but then Katie passed and stepped on it!"

Acxa snickered, Zethrid and Narti both trying to suppress their grins. Lotor just shook his head, a small smile growing into a larger one as Ezor continued his tale. 

"Man, what a savage. Katie might not just be a pretty face after all!" Said Zethrid while snickering. Lotor stopped chuckling to furrowed a brow, immediately standing up straighter. 

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" He asked, an edge to his voice. The other four stopped laughing and froze, all turning to look at him with confused faces. 

Acxa raised a brow. "Excuse me Lotor, but what?"

Ezor smirked. "Yeah Lotor, what is that supposed to mean?" She sent him a knowing look which both Zethrid and Narti saw, the other two finally getting what she was getting at before bursting out into fresh peals of laugher. 

Acxa jumped, looking at the three of them with a confused face. "What's so funny?" She put a hand up on her hip, her lip jutting out as she did so. 

Ezor but her lip, trying to contain her laughter. "Nothing nothing, it's just really funny how Lotor thinks we don't know he's starting to crush on Katie."

Upon hearing that, Lotor dropped his water bottle which proceeded to make Ezor burst out laughing again while Zethrid and Narti were clutching their stomachs, tears streaming down their faces. 

"HELP ME EZOR."

Ezor just grinned and pushed her poinytail over her shoulder, eyeing Lotor as his face starting changing color. 

Acxa looked between Ezor and Lotor before shaking her head. "I noticed but didn't think it was laughable."

Ezor rolled her eyes. "Stuck up blueberry head."

Acxa's brows shot up as Zethrid and Narti stopped laughing to stare at Ezor. 

Lotor just shook his head as he face palmed while Zethrid grinned. 

"Fight fight fight!" 

Acxa glared. "What's wrong with my blue hair? You're the one that looks like a wannabe Ariana Grande with your high ass fuck ponytail that's also dyed, might I add." She said accusingly while pointing at her. 

Narti gasped, Zethrid started cackling while Lotor just sighed and walked in between the two of them. 

"Ladies ladies, you're both pretty but I'm the prettiest here if we're being honest. Now, please step apart because people are bound to start staring at you two."

Ezor stuck out her tongue at Acxa, Acxa just making a face of disgust before sticking the middle finger up at her. 

"Girls."

Ezor sighed and pouted. "Fine. But don't think we forgot about you, Lotor." She said while waving her index finger on her right hand and putting her left hand on her hip. 

Lotor shook his head. "I've forgotten it, so therefore we are not going to talk about it."

Zethrid grinned. "Yeah Ezor, don't bring up Katie here. He's going to go on a rant about how 'pretty' her hair is." 

Ezor snickered. "Lotor just doesn't wanna admit that he really likes Katie."

Lotor crossed his arms. "I do not. It's part of the act to get her to trust me more than her other friends so she can help us."

Acxa looked to the side. "You said you wanted her to date you though, Lotor." 

Lotor flushed a slight shade of pink, instead turning to wave her off. "I don't like Katie. It's absurd, falling for the person that you're using for other purposes." The girls just glanced at each other, knowing looks on their faces. Ezor shook her head before walking over towards Lotor and throwing a lazy arm over his shoulder.

Lotor raised a brow, eyeing her as she grinned at him. "Ezor?"

"Shh, just listen to me."

"Go ahead."

She smirked before cupping her hands by her mouth, shouting, "LOTOR HAS A BIG FAT CRUSH ON KA-" She was silenced by Lotor himself who let out an uncharacteristically loud screech before he covered her mouth with his hand, the few people around them turning to give the two weird looks. 

Pidge looked at them in confusion, covering her eyes with her hand to block the sun as she squinted to see Lotor from across the field. She spotted him and he immediately dropped his hand that was covering Ezor's mouth to wave at her, sending her a small smile too. Pidge gave a small grin before turning around and immediately losing it to send Keith a bored expression. 

"Like I was saying, Bigfoot is cool but just imagine the various other alien like creatures on different planets, Pidge!"

Pidge snorted. "Please Keith, stay in your lane of Mothman."

He pouted. "I love Mothman, Pidge, but I don't have to only talk about him you know. You're honestly telling me that humanoid aliens with magic don't spark any interest in you?" He asked while crossing his arms. Lance rolled his eyes.

"None of you answered my question from earlier!"

Pidge rolled her eyes in return, mocking him. "All you asked was a if Lotor is actually a wild party animal like the people are saying and none of us knew so we decided not to answer said question."

Keith nodded. "Thats pretty much what  happened. But I'm going to give my honest opinion. I don't care about what he does. The rumor is probably just as fake as he is."

Hunk whistled. "Damn buddy. Keith is a savage confirmed."

Pidge snorted. "He's been a savage since he came out."

Lance snorted. "Keith has never denied his attraction to men though, Pidge. Remember sixth grade?"

Hunk grinned. "Keith literally avoided a girl by saying that the only person he would date was The Rock."

Keith shook his head. "I was desperate!"

Pidge looked at Keith with a brow raised. "Wasn't the girl Nyma?"

Lance's mouth dropped open as he stared at Keith, the boy just shrugging and popping a gum stick into his mouth. 

"Yeah it was. I said I wouldn't date her then and I'm still not dating her now. We can give her to Lance."

Lance stopped gaping to scowl at Keith. "Hey! I'll have you know that once a girl rejects me I don't take her back!"

"Classic fuckboy move number one." Keith said, holding the basketball in one hand while putting the other on his hip. 

Lance turned away from him, crossing his arms. "The level of disrespect is real here. Why do you guys bully me about Nyma when we can be talking about Shay or Pidge? Oh Hunk, how is Shay by the way?"

Hunk blushed. "She's doing better, if that's what you meant. She really appreciates our company, you guys. Though I don't know if her brother really trusts us now. I mean he's friendly, but he could secretly hate us still. You know what I mean?"

Pidge shrugged. "I mean Lotor secretly hated Keith apparently during summer camp but you don't see him trying to kill him, right?"

The three males in front of her furrowed their brows, looking at her with confused faces. Lance spoke up first. 

"Hold up, Lotor hated Keith?"

Keith shook his head. "I didn't even do anything to him during summer camp."

Hunk nodded. "Yeah, Keith basically didn't interact with anyone except us. But there was that one time you were chosen to be leader-oh." He stopped sentence, looking as if he had just had a revelation. "Ohhhh. Yeah he hates you."

Keith raised a brow. "Elaborate."

Hunk raised a hand. "First of all, I need to clarify that while you are my friend I hated you too for that one day."

Lance's eyes widened in realization before glaring at Keith. "Oh same."

Pidge raised a brow. "What exactly did Keith do for even Hunk to hate him?"

Hunk shook his head. "It was pure jealousy from everyone because Keith was leader in our fight against the cabin across the lake from us during capture the flag. The entire camp leader, as a matter of fact." He stated while Lance gave Keith the side eye look. 

"Yeah, Keith over here was trying to act like he didn't want it when it was probably his plan all along. Everyone knew that there were better choices, but no they chose Keith above all people to lead us."

Keith's eyebrows shot up as he crossed his arms defensively. "I didn't want to be leader, that's just what Shiro said so everyone accepted it and placed me as the leader!" He said exasperatedly, Pidge turning to look at him. 

"Shiro put you in charge? Does he know how much you hate being a leader?"

Keith shook his head. "Of course Shiro knows, we're brothers after all! He just said 'Keith you have to mature and be a team leader' before telling everyone I was going to lead them. But I didn't think Lotor would be bitter about it."

Pidge snorted, taking the basketball out of his hand before aiming it at a hoop. "Think again, dude. He was apparently pissed, but he can't hold grudges. Said you turned out to be a pretty decent leader, even led them to victory." She then shot the ball at the hoop, missing and cursing. "Shit."

Lance snorted. "That's why you don't give the ball to Pidge, Keith. She can't throw for shit." He said teasingly, causing her to scowl before turning away from them. 

"HEY LOTOR, PASS ME THAT BASKETBALL!" She called out, cupping her hands together around her mouth to make sure he heard it. He did and picked it up before throwing it at her, accidentally hitting Lance in the stomach. 

With an 'oof,' Lance doubled over while Hunk rushed over to help him and Keith looked alarmed. Pidge burst out laughing, doubling over herself while clutching her stomach as tears formed in her eyes. 

She looked at Lotor, trying to catch her breath as she continued laughing. "HEY THANK'S LOTOR!" She sent him a thumbs up with a goofy expression, giggling as she walked over towards Lance, most likely to bully him. 

Lotor blinked before slowly smiling, turning around to face four smug faces. Ezor grinned. 

"So you're saying that in the midst of your evil ploy against the school you haven't actually fallen for Katie? Such a shame, really. I'd love to ask her out." She declared, innocently batting her eyes while tugging on a strand of hair. 

Acxa blinked and immediately turned towards Ezor. "You're not straight?"

Ezor burst of laughing, Zethrid snorting from behind Narti. "Lance's ass is straighter than she is." Narti chuckled, looking away while crossing her arms as Ezor only started to laugh harder. 

Lotor shook his head, still playing back Katie's smile. The only smile that had been sent his way by her. She was a good girl, a pretty cute one too. But he shook those thoughts out of his head. He had a mission, a mission that his father had tasked him upon when he applied for his senior year to be at Altea High. Well, not exactly one his father had tasked him with, but rather one that he felt would be useful. 

That mission was to make sure Coran and Allura were killed. 

Now, Lotor hated his father. He hated that most people wanted him to lead in his fathers footsteps, but he couldn't pass up an opportunity for revenge on those who had hurt him. This was his chance to prove that he was not the lazy scumbag that his father had called him all those years ago, vowing that Lotor would never be head of Galra Industries because he was 'irresponsible.' 

Lotor was there to witness the friendship that Alfor and his father had. He was also there to witness how his mother had gone from this sweet person to a stuck up rich person holed up in her medical lab because Galra Industries was a medical research facility. His mother was obsessed with finding cures for diseases, and he rarely saw her or his father. Especially since his father was bedridden at all times. 

A fight had broken out between the two and Alfor had broken their partnership, ending the long time partnership of Galra Industries and Altea Industries. Alfor had established both Altea University and Altea High, and even planned to start Altea Kindergarten. He was basically trying to expand the name 'Altea' everywhere and have it take over the city, Lotor had concluded once his father had told him what happened. 

Apparently, his father had not agreed to that and thus the argument ensued because Zarkon had not liked the idea of Galra Industries being overlooked because of Alfor's company. 

The two were gravely injured after Zarkon drove his car straight into Alfor's on the highway. His father ended up paralyzed from the waist down due to how much damage he received in his spine and Alfor could no longer handle his position in his company, forcing him to teach his daughter Allura how to manage Altea Industries. Alfor ended up with the least damage, a head injury that caused him to have memory loss and some of his motor functions were delayed. 

Lotor was bitter about how Allura always seemed to complain that his father was at fault. At least her father could still walk. 

His fathers plan was to kill Alfor, but now the plan had escalated to killing all the possible leaders that could arise. The current living three were Allura, Alfor and Coran. Coran had taken over as principle at Altea University, and Lotor knew how Allura always attended the proms that were held at the Castle of Lions, so deemed by Alfor himself which was basically just the site on campus where all the parties were held. It was basically a large house open to students for their classes. 

Altea University was like a castle itself, but the Castle of Lions was where the smartest of the smartest attended on its campus. It was oh so convenient that every year the prom from Altea High had been held there, facilitating Lotor's plans about ending both Coran and Allura's lives. And along with them, why not the entire senior year? They wouldn't live to tell the tale of how Lotor and his girls had killed their beloved principle Coran and his beloved 'niece' Allura. 

He was getting Jason Dean vibes just thinking about it, and he _loved_ it. He was taking revenge, and that's where Katie came in. Katie with her pretty eyes and hair. Katie who he had slowly started to fall for, and apparently Ezor had noticed. 

"Helloooo? Earth to Lotor?" Ezor waved a hand in front of his face, the other on her hip as she leaned forwards. Acxa was pouting while thinking in the background, most likely about how she just had the revelation that Ezor was, in fact, not straight. 

He scoffed, pushing her hand out of his face. She grinned. "Oh, he lives! You kind died on us, Lotor. Me and the girls were talking about how we can make your crush on Katie work so that she can actually willingly work for us if she fell for you instead of you just snatching her away at once from her friends."

Lotor raised a brow, feeling a slight blush rise to his face. "I do not-"

Ezor rolled her eyes. "Look, I think you should stop denying it and accept it as a potentially good thing."

Acxa nodded and noticed Lotor's confused expression, shaking her head and putting a hand up. "Look, I'll explain. She's a girl, and girls like her barely get the compliments on their looks. She's pretty, but her personality makes boys not want to date her. Except for a select few, she doesn't get many declarations of love and when she knows they're fake because many use her for her intelligence. So if you told her you liked her after showing genuine interest in what she likes and bond with her, there's a high chance that she'll willingly date you and after that you can slowly start tearing her away from her friends."

Zethrid snorted and grinned. "She won't even notice you're using her until we bomb prom." Narti gave her the side eye before turning towards Lotor when he raised a questioning brow, nodding in confirmation that she approved of the plan. 

Lotor sighed. "Fine. I will admit that I have recently started having a small attraction to Katie. This plan sounds great, actually. How would we put it into play?"

"We could have you start acting like you like her now, and when people notice they'll start encouraging both you and Katie to date. You are quite influential here, you know. That's a plus. So after that happens, she'll ask why and when various people start telling her how you have interest in her she'll start thinking of potentially dating you because she's never dated anyone before since they've all just wanted to use her."

Ezor grinned. "She won't even know that you're using her!" 

Zethrid scowled. "That's what I said, Ezor." 

Ezor just rolled her eyes, sticking her tongue out at the taller girl before turning back towards Lotor, grinning. 

Lotor sighed before a small smirk found its way to his face. "You're all very smart, you know that? And Acxa, exactly how much information do you have on Katie?"

Acxa shrugged. "The necessary amount. Also, we are doing this plan now, correct?"

Lotor nodded. "It's the most sensible path to go. She'll never see it coming." He almost felt sorry for her. 

Ezor rubbed her hands together, grinning. "That's the best part about it." The rest of the girls nodded, the bell ringing and they headed inside. 

Lotor took a glance at Katie, who was still smiling and shooting Lance daring and teasing looks while Keith and Hunk helped Lance walk. A frown found its place on his face, watching as Keith sent Katie fond looks and laughing freely every time that she sent a teasing jab at Lance. 

Ezor noticed and grinned, tugging Lotor's arm as they entered the school gymnasium again. "You've got it bad."

Lotor shook his head. "Ezor, it's a crush and not love."

She grinned even more. "I guess you just won't say you're in love." She waggled her eyebrows, smirking as her left dimple made an appearance. Lotor shook his head and quickly hurried up to enter the gym, Ezor shaking her head from behind him as she caught up with Acxa to get to the girls locker room.

* * *

"Lance, you cannot name the robot Shakira."

Lance pouted, his pencil stuck behind his ear as he glared at Keith. "We can't call the robot MCR either, Keith!"

Keith frowned. "Who agreed to let you choose the name of our project?"

Lance scowled. "I don't know, who let _you_ name the robot? Nu-uh, no way are we calling the robot MCR."

Pidge rolled her eyes before gritting her teeth together and clearing her throat. Hunk looked at her with concern, eyeing her from the corner of his eye as he talked to Shay who was sitting at the table across from them."

"Shakira!" 

"No!"

"Sha-"

Pidge slammed her hands on the table, growling dangerously low as Lance and Keith immediately looked at her in fear. Hunk groaned, excusing himself from his conversation with Shay to make sure Pidge didn't kill the two fighting idiots in front of her. 

"You two need to shut up before I request a new team for this damn project. We are not naming it Shakira or MCR, so you two can get the idea out of your dense heads once and forever, okay?" She managed to say through grit teeth, she said while giving them a menacing look. 

Allura smiled from where she was, ignoring Matt and Shiro's horrified looks. 

"Isn't it amazing how she can radiate fear into their hearts? She learned it from me." She turned towards her laptop again, Shiro and Matt now turning to look between her and Pidge. 

Matt patted Shiro's arm. "You're so fucked." He whispered before getting up to calm his sister down, who looked like she was about to murder the two in front of her. 

He slid in next to her, pulling her down. "Pidge Pidge Pidge, my favorite Pigeon of them all."

She glared at him, Matt wincing. "Pidge, you have to sit down and chill. I'm pretty sure your scholarship won't cover murder, you know."

The boys stopped cowering from her in fear as they sat up, brows up in surprise. Pidge stopped glaring to sharply turn her head towards her brother, a look of confusion on her face. 

Matt's eyes widened as he realized what he said, Allura and Shiro glaring at him from their places at the front of the room. 

"My what?"

Matt grinned uneasily before shrugging, looking at her. "You're probably going to get a scholarship, so yeah you can't risk it by murdering Lance and Keith now." 

Lance sighed in relief, chuckling as he leaned back. "For a second I thought Pidge had really gotten a scholarship, dude. I mean it'd be nice but really predictable, you know what I mean?"

Matt kept grinning uneasily, patting Pidge's hair before he walked back towards Shiro and Allura who were both looking at him with disappointed faces. 

Pidge gave him a suspicious looked before turning around to face Keith, who just shrugged. She rolled her eyes before putting a finger up to her lip. 

"Hm, so where was I? Oh right." She looked between Keith and Lance, who had returned to cower under her gaze as hunk shot them sympathetic looks. 

Pidge sighed. "I'm not going to kill you, but stop giving horrible name ideas or you will find a shovel in your head come morning."

Zethrid snorted from her place across the room. "Why a shovel? Wouldn't it be easier to blow them up instead?" She grinned at her own comments, Acxa and Ezor turning around to say "Shh!" before turning around and listening to what the boys had to say. 

Lotor shook his head in amusement, watching them laughing at how the boys were scared of  Katie. Katie was not weak, it seemed. That intrigued him. 

Keith and Lance both sighed, Lance sending her a grin. "You obviously couldn't kill me because you'd be giving the ladies a big let down, Pidgey boo."

She rolled her eyes. "They're already let down by your presence, Lance." 

He opened his mouth and made a noise of protestation, Pidge just smirking in satisfaction while Keith and Hunk snorted behind her in amusement. 

Shiro walked over, a smile on his face despite Matt's earlier slip up. "Any names?"

"Sha-" "No Lance."

Lance pouted and Pidge sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Shiro I don't know how you do it, man. These children are all tiring me."

Keith raised a brow. "You're the youngest one here, though." He grinned when she swatted his arm, dodging to avoid her fists. 

Allura sat down next to Pidge, taking the girls hand in her hair and braiding it. "You can take inspiration from other things, you know."

Pidge and Hunk nodded. Hunk shrugged. 

"We would, but we don't know what to choose. Totally unrelated, but Pidge, how is prom coming along? Shay wants to know the color theme."

Lotor and the girls sat up, straining their ears to listen. 

Pidge shrugged. "I mean, prom is definitely being held at the Castle of Lions. Color theme is still being discussed since Coran insists that it has to match the colors of the Castle of Lions."

Lance and Keith both tuned out the conversation, frowning while deep in thought. Suddenly both their heads snapped up. 

"The Castle of Lions!" They both said at the same time, huge grins on their faces. The rest of them blinked, looking at the two in confusion. 

Allura smiled hesitantly. "What?"

Keith grinned. "We can make a robot based of the Castle of Lions made up of actual lions."

Lance also grinned, nodding excitedly. "Exactly! Hey, maybe you aren't so dumb after all!"

Keith rolled his eyes before turning to face a very excited Pidge. "What do you think?"

Pidge looked at Hunk, who was grinning as much as the other three were. 

"You guys are geniuses! Even though Pidge is the real smart one here, but you guys just blew my mind!"

Pidge giggled. "Guys, that's seriously one of the best ideas that you've come up with. So how many lions would it be? Four?"

Lance shook his head. "Look, four lions wouldn't be able form an entire body, Pidge. So I'd say five. Two arms, two legs and a head."

Keith frowned. "But where are we going to get the fifth person?"

Matt coughed loudly, pointing at Shiro who was smiling proudly at their idea. 

"You guys really have imaginative minds."

All for lightbulbs went off as Pidge stood up on her chair despite Allura's protests that she would ruin her braid. 

"Takashi Shirogane! You will be the fifth lion!" He blinked, smiling although he looked confused. 

"I can't help with your project, Pidge."

She snorted. "You won't build a lion, but we'll build it for you. That way, you can be our leader since you technically are the head of the robotics club here. It's a good idea, right?" She smiled cheekily up at him and Shiro briefly saw the small child that had been excited the first time she had opened a laptop up, eyes wide with excitement. 

His throats closed up and he managed a smile, nodding. "I. I guess so. Good job, Pidge."

Lance snorted. "And he says Pidge isn't the favorite."

Keith shoved Lance between the ribs, causing the other to howl in pain before trying to punch the latter. Shiro sighed and separated them, grabbing them by their jackets while Allura just shook her head. 

Hunk smiled at Pidge. "You know, I can help you design the robot over the weekend. We could meet up after school Monday and decide on a name."

Pidge nodded. "That sounds good. So, we all agree on a giant robot made out of five smaller lions?"

They all nodded, Allura standing up and clasping her hands. "I'm so glad that my father creating the Castle of Lions inspired this robot!"

At the mention of her father, Lotor scowled and clenched his fist. Ezor noticed and sent him a worried look, Acxa furrowing her brows. 

Ezor gently touched his shoulder. "Hey Lotor, are you alright?"

He nodded, quickly sitting straight up with a neutral face. "I'm alright. Now, what were you planning on asking Katie, exactly

Ezor grinned and Zethrid groaned. 

"Katie lacks friends that are girls, so if we make her feel welcomed and casually slip in how much interest you have in her it will facilitate your ability to get her to date you."

Lotor nodded, a faraway look in his eyes. "That's good, very good."

Zethrid snorted. "So we basically get closer to her like Lotor and earn her trust, so much that she basically stars hating her other friends because they won't listen to her as much as we do?"

Ezor grinned. "Yep! We're almost going home, so now wild he the perfect time to ask. Well, when we get out anyways."

Acxa nodded. "Good call."

As if on cue, Shiro stared letting them know that they could leave since it was already five. Murmurs were heard as the student rose up to leave, jackets being pulled on and bags put on backs. 

Lotor and the girls walked out, hanging around the entrance to wait for Katie and her gang to walk out. 

Ten minutes after everyone had left, Pidge, Keith, Lance, Hunk and Matt walked out with Allura and Shiro behind them. They were all laughing about some joke, and Acxa nodded towards Ezor. 

Ezor grinned and nodded, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Hey Katie!"

Pidge turned around, trying to pinpoint the voice. The others also looked around, confusion all over their features. 

Pidge blinked once she spotted Ezor, excusing herself from her group to walk towards them. She gripped her book bag strap, standing in front of Ezor with a raised a brow. 

"You're Ezor, right? I think, sorry if I'm wrong. Also, hi Lotor." She said while waving at Lotor who just chuckled and waved at her. 

Ezor smiled. "Yep! We met when we went trick o treating, remember?"

Pidge scrunched her brows together before her eyes widened. "Oh right! You're the one that gave me the most of your peanut butter candy. Thank by the way, it tasted good."

Ezor scoffed while smiling. "Pfft, no big deal. Hey listen, I have a question for you."

Pidge smiled. "Ask away." She didn't mind Ezor, even if she was always hanging around Lotor. She was actually the friendliest one out of the five of them, and Pidge trusted her to some degree. They weren't friends, but they were acquaintances. 

Ezor put a hand on her hip, the other toying with a strand of hair. "I was wondering if you'd like to go shopping with me tomorrow. You seem like a pretty nice person, and I'd love to get to know you better and be able to call you my friend! Well, all of us anyways." She said white point behind her to Acxa, Zethrid and Narti. 

All three raised hands to acknowledge Pidge, the girl just waving at them before turning back towards Ezor and raising a brow in confusion. 

"When?"

Ezor shrugged. "I don't know; are you free tomorrow?"

Pidge nodded. "Yeah, I'm free. I'll tell my parents I'm going out, they'll probably be okay with it. Do I meet you at the mall?"

Ezor giggled. "No, we'll pick you up. Here's my number, text me and we'll figure out the details okay?" She said while writing down her number on Pidge's hand. 

Pidge looked at her hand then at Ezor, a smile on her face. "Yeah, sure. I'll be happy to go."

She really didn't like going out, but Ezor seemed chill and genuinely nice so why not? Besides, her parents would be thrilled that she was making more friends other than the ones she had already. 

Ezor smiled. "Great! See you tomorrow then, Katie!" She waved as she walked away, Lotor waving a goodbye to Pidge before turning around to walk after the girls. 

Pidge shrugged before walking over towards Keith, the boy raising a brow. 

"What was that about?"

Pidge chuckled. "Apparently I'm going to the mall tomorrow. Ezor asked if I was free to go shopping tomorrow, and I am so I said yes."

They all exchanged looks except for Allura, who just clasped her hands together and smiled. 

"Well I think it's wonderful that you are making friends with more girls, Pidge!"

Pidge smiled. "Thanks Allura. Now let's stop by McDonald's. I'm starving!"

The others agreed with her, and they walked towards the nearest McDonald's while laughing and cracking jokes.

* * *

Later that night, Ezor plopped down on the couch, putting her phone in her pocket while biting an apple. 

Acxa raised a brow from her spot on the rocking chair. "What's with the grin?"

Ezor sighed, smiling as she cracked her neck. "Oh nothing, just that Katie said her parents were fine with her going out to the mall tomorrow. She's free anytime after twelve."

Zethrid rolled her eyes. "This is so unnecessary."

Narti sighed. "It's necessary, Zethrid."

Acxa slightly jumped at hearing Narti's voice, Narti just smirking as she saw her reaction. 

Zethrid groaned. "I don't understand how you can sound so sweet, Ezor. You literally sounded like an anime character, what was her name again?"

Ezor raised a brow. "Kaori...?"

Zethrid snapped her fingers. "Yeah, that one. How do you do it? It hurt for me to keep a straight face while you talked to her like you actually cared."

Ezor shrugged. "Practice I guess. I mean I'm usually pretty upbeat but I hated sounding so innocent while talking to her." She shuddered, Acxa slightly chuckling. 

"You did fine, Ezor. At least now we know that she trusts you enough to go out shopping upon your request." 

Ezor smiled. "That's true. Now pass the control, Acxa!"

Acxa rolled her eyes, passing Ezor the control. "You sound like Lotor."

Ezor pretended to be insulted. "How dare you insult Lotor when he's not around? For shame, Acxa!" 

The four burst out laughing, the jokes about acting like Lotor being a long running gag between them. Ezor chuckled before Acxa sat on the opposite side of her on the couch, curling up and pulling out her phone. 

Ezor smiled. They were so close, even without Lotor around. She really loved them all, and she was thankful to have equally evil girls like her to call friends. 

Well, with the addition of Katie they'd have to pretend to like her and make her feel included. It shouldn't be hard. It would be glorious watching Katie thinking that somebody cared about her, only for them to leave her and reveal their plans when Lotor told them to tell her. 

She couldn't wait for it. 

For now, she was just going to sit back and watch tv with her friends. So she settled in, pulling a blanket around her as she focused on the movie playing. Watching tv was always so much better when Lotor wasn't around to complain about it. Might as well take advantage of the rare opportunity.


	12. You Always Think We're Something That We're Not

During all his twenty two years of living, Matt Holt had witnessed many oddities in his household. 

Like there was that one time he caught his dad and Pidge trying to have a 'who can type the fastest' competition back when he was in eight grade. Also that one time he caught Keith launching himself into Katie's room one night, only for her to scream in terror when his head popped up next to hers. He was a sophomore in high school when that happened. There was also that time that his dad, feeling all brave and macho, had dared his mom to jump onto the neighbor's house during his junior year of high school. Pidge had burst out laughing at how shook Keith was when he heard a sudden 'bump' on his roof, claiming that he had jumped like a cat that had been drenched with water.

But none of those rivaled the shock that he awoke to when he realized that his sister, who had never cared about makeup or anything of the sort, was asking Allura for advice on how to apply makeup. Well, he and Allura both apparently.

"Listen Allura,don't act so shocked and just help me." She said exasperatedly, annoyed with both Allura and Keith's looks of shock on their faces.

Allura closed her mouth, shoving Keith in the ribs to make him stop gaping. The poor boy gave a sharp gasp before falling to his side, not even bothering to get up because he was still in shock. Pidge raised her brows as she tried to peek into his room, Keith waving his hand to reassure her that he was still alive. She rolled her eyes.

"Keith, get up."

"I can't get up because if I do get up you'll get mad at me for looking so shocked."

Allura shook her head before turning to face Pidge. "I uh. I'm confused. Why exactly do you want to wear make up?"

Pidge sighed. "I'm going out to the mall with Ezor and her girl group, remember? I kinda wanna look nice I guess?" Her voice had an unusual unsteady edge to it, and Keith did not like it. 

He frowned before sitting up, Allura and Shiro also frowning. Before he could say anything, Matt ran into the room and grabbed Pidge's face in his hands, a frown on his face while she just looked confused. 

"Matt?"

He shook his head. "Katie, my favorite sibling and hacker sister, repeat after me. Say; 'screw beautiful. I'm brilliant. If you want to appease me, compliment my brain.' You got it?"

Pidge blinked. "Screw beautiful. I'm brilliant. If you want to appease me, compliment my brain." She then rolled her eyes, giving Matt an 'are you serious' look. "Seriously? Quoting Grey's Anatomy?"

Matt placed a finger on his mouth. "Shh. Besides, the quote is great. Especially for this occasion." He rolled his sleeves up, Pidge sighing and throwing herself on her bed. 

Keith nodded from his place on his windowsill. "Yeah Pidge, Matt's right. Well, for once anyways." He ignored Matt's indignant little 'hey!', causing both Allura and Shiro to chuckle in the background. 

"You don't need to wear makeup, you look great just the way you are." Matt stopped pouting to whip his head around, raising a suspicious brow at Keith while Pidge just flushed red and placed a pillow on her face. 

"I want to die."

Allura sighed before gently smiling. "No you don't, Pidge. You'll be alright meeting up with uh, Ezor was it? Yes, you'll be alright meeting her and her friends today. It's just harmless shopping, right? You'll be fine."

Pidge sat up, raising a brow at how Matt seemed to be glaring a hole into the wall opposite her bed. "Matt? You okay?"

He blinked before turning around and sending her a teasing smile. "Aw, you actually cared! That's so cute! So touching!" He lunged at her and pulled her into a hug, ignoring her indignant squawks as she desperately tried to get out of his embrace. 

"Matt fuck off!" 

Shiro sighed and shook his head from his place on Keith's bed. "Matt, release the child."

Matt pouted. "But Shiro-"

"Do you really want to face the consequences?"

Matt blinked before letting go of Pidge, the girl scowling at Shiro. 

"I am no child, Shiro!"

Shiro hid his smirk behind his coffee cup. "Sounds like one to me. You even call me 'space dad. Plus, you're not eighteen yet."

Matt started cackling, dodging the pillow that Pidge sent his way. Keith and Allura chuckled, Matt sending Keith a suspicious look with narrowed eyes. Keith raised a questioning brow, Matt just continuing to narrow his eyes at him. 

Pidge was about to open her mouth when her phone chimed, all five looking at it before Pidge scrambled to check her messages. Her eyes widened as she read the message, screeching. 

The other four winced and covered their ears, Matt gagging. "Pidge what gives?"

"Ezor is coming to pick me up at twelve you dipshit!"

"So?"

"It's fucking eleven thirty you ass! Get out!" She screamed, pushing him out and shutting the blinds so she could change. Keith blinked as Allura and Shiro book shook their heads in true parent mode, walking out Keith's room while discussing something. 

Matt rolled his eyes from his place outside her door. "Pigeon let me in before I start singing Do You Wanna Build A Snowman."

"Fuck you Matthew Holt."

He shrugged. "You asked for it. Hey Pidge, do you wanna build a snow-" The door was yanked open as Pidge threw one of her sneakers at his face, Matt falling backwards while gripping his nose. 

"Ow!"

Pidge shrugged. "You deserved it. Now go bug Shiro and Allura or something." 

Matt pouted. "But when Shiro and Allura are together it's basically all sugar talking and light flirting. It's like watching Hunk and Shay interact, hey no offense meant by that by the way. I just think that romantic relationships are disgusting, but Hunk and Shay are really cute together. Also Shiro and Allura; if they ever stopped liking each other you better believe that the world is over." 

Pidge gave him an unamused look. "You're rambling. Also, pass me my shoe I kinda need it."

Matt snickered. "Should've thought of that before throwing it at my face. Hey, you should try out for a sport where you can throw a ball at someone's face. You'll be great at it." He muttered sarcastically while passing her her shoe. 

Pidge stuck her tongue out at him before accepting the shoe and tugging it on, Matt rolling his eyes. 

"Do I need to give you a lift or something?"

Pidge raised a brow. "Didn't you hear me say that Ezor is going to pick me up? You must be deaf."

Matt stuck a middle finger up at her, Pidge just shrugging before grabbing her sweater and bag. Slugging her bag over her shoulder after putting her sweater on, she headed down the stairs before entering the kitchen and pulling an apple off the table. 

Colleen raised a critical brow. "Katie, you can't just eat an apple for breakfast. You need at least a muffin."

Pidge waved her hand, only raising her brows when there was a knock at the door. Matt scoffed before tossing a cracker into his mouth, opening the door and snorting. 

"Pidge it's your boyfriend."

Both Pidge and Keith let out indignant squawks, Matt just shrugging while making an 'I'm watching you' motion at Keith. Keith blinked before walking inside, skillfully walking around Matt and heading towards Pidge and Colleen. 

He flashed Colleen a smile, waving a gloved hand. Colleen waved back, smiling when Pidge turned around to face Keith. 

"Are you seriously coming over when I'm about to leave?" She snorted, giving Keith an amused look. 

Keith shrugged before leaning against the kitchen doorframe. "Figured you could use the company. Plus, Allura doesn't want you putting make up on. And Lance too, apparently. Say it's something about it ruining your 'flawless complexion.'' He shrugged.

Matt lowered his brows. "Are you sure that's what they said or are you just trying to woo my sister?" He muttered under his breath. Keith flushed a light shade of pink, Colleen chuckling under her breath. Pidge didn't hear, instead just rolling her eyes in amusement. 

"Seriously? My complexion is far from flawless but okay. I appreciate you coming over though, I'm nervous about going out."

Keith raised a brow. "Then why did you agree to go out?" A look of horror crossed over his features as he stood up straight. "Is Lotor going to be with you?"

Colleen gave him a confused look. "Who's Lotor?"

Pidge shrugged. "That guy that obsesses over grapes every time he comes over. Remember?"

Colleen gasped. "Oh him! He's a good boy, Keith. I appreciate your concerns but Lotor is a fine boy, he wouldn't hurt Katie."

Keith blinked. "I-I wasn't concerned." He stammered, trying to lie but Colleen just smiled. 

"Okay Keith." She winked at him, Matt gagging from his place by the door as Keith just flushed a light shade of pink. Pidge just groaned. 

"Mom I told you, stop embarrassing me in front of my friends." She said, feigning annoyance while Keith just chuckled lightly. 

Colleen then turned towards her daughter, a serious look on her face. "Take care of yourself Katie, the mall is full of dangerous 'wolves.' If one of them tries to woo you, go for the throat and don't stop until the body stops shaking." She sat back, smiling. 

Pidge, Matt and Keith all shared looks of horror, Colleen blinking while feigning innocence. "What?"

Pidge slowly shook her head while she turned to look at Keith who just shrugged. Matt made a face of disgust. 

"Mom that's disgusting. How about I just go with her if you're so worried about the guys attacking her? I'll be good at keeping them away." He added, smirking devilishly while Pidge shook her head rapidly, much to her mom's amusement. 

Colleen chuckled. "Matt, your sister is old enough to fend for herself. Plus, Keith taught her some tricks last year. Isn't that right Katie?"

Pidge nodded and gave her mom a thankful look. Keith snorted, looking to the side when Matt sent him a death glare. 

Matt glanced outside the front door and started choking on his cracker. Pidge and Keith sent him concerned looks, Matt pounding on his chest. 

"P-ack-Pidge! Mind explaining why there's a limo in front of the house?" He stopped coughing, squinting before snorting. "Lotor really does look like a girl."

Pidge gasped before standing up and smacking his arm, Matt wincing as he clutched his arm with his hand while pouting. 

"Hey! That's my arm!"

"Don't be rude." She hissed through clenched teeth, hastily waving a goodbye to her mom and punching Keith in the arm before walking through the front door and smiling at the group. 

Ezor turned to Lotor, a pleading look on her face. "Can I please say it?"

Lotor raised a brow and chuckled. "Be my guest."

Zethrid and Narti sighed and looked to the side while Acxa just shook her head. Ezor just chuckled before cupping her hands around her mouth, exclaiming; "Get in loser, we're going shopping!"

Matt burst out laughing by his position at the door, Keith raising a brow while Pidge flushed a light shade of pink as she self consciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 

Acxa turned to face Lotor, who was struggling to keep the blush off his face. She rolled her eyes before poking Ezor. Ezor stopped giggling to scowl at Acxa. 

"What?"

"Fix Lotor, he's dying." She stated bluntly, moving to the side so that Ezor could see him. Ezor raised a questioning brow before giggling and smiling devilishly. 

"Acxa there's nothing wrong with him. He's just, how do the Spanish say it? _Está enamorado._ Yeah, I think that's how you say it." She grinned smugly at Lotor as Pidge approached them, Lotor slightly shaking his head at her. 

Pidge coughed as she made it front of them, sheepishly raising a hand and waving. "Hi." Why the hell am I nervous? It's just Lotor and his girl squad for fuck's sale! Snap out of it, Pidge. 

She quickly looked back up at them, Ezor grinning before stepping forward. 

"Hey! You ready for the most amazing shopping experience that you'll ever have?" She asked, smirking playfully and waggling her brows. Pidge chuckled lightly. 

"Sure. Are these clothes uh, okay?" She folded her arms behind her, her fingers twitching. Keith frowned from his position on the porch as he noticed her discomfort, starting to make his way towards her before Matt stopped cackling to hold him back. 

"Wha-"

"They're not going to bite her, Keith. Unless they're vampires. Anyways, she's going to be fine. Stop acting like her overprotective boyfriend when you're not." He said, crossing his arms and leaning moodily against the door frame. 

Keith raised a brow. "I-what? I'm not acting like an overprotective boyfriend?"

Matt rolled his eyes. "And I'm straight, don't lie to me. Now shut up I wanna hear what they're saying." He quickly shushed Keith, the two turning around to face Pidge. 

Lotor blinked before sending her a charming smile and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You look perfectly fine. It's just a trip to the mall, is it not, Ezor?" He asked, raising an expectant brow. 

She rolled her eyes before putting her hands on her hips. "Look Lotor, are you the girl or am I?"

Matt snorted from his position on the porch. "Does that really require an answer?" Keith tried to hide his amused smirk, instead crossing his arms as he watched Pidge's ears twitch. 

"She's going to yell at you in three, two, one-"

"Matthew Holt I am going to kick your ass when I get back home!" She growled, Ezor laughing at her outburst while Zethrid just snorted in amusement. 

Matt rolled his eyes. "Yeah whatever make you feel better!" He called out, shaking his head. "Can you believe this girl?" He asked while motioning at Pidge, Keith just shrugging. 

Pidge turned back toward Lotor and coughed. "I'm uh, sorry about that but my brother is am ass."

Lotor chuckled, obviously amused. "I can tell."

"Hey!"

Pidge grinned. "Glad we're on the same page. So uh, should we go now? Or did you guys have anything else planned."

Acxa shook her head. "Just shopping." She replied flatly, her arms crossed. Ezor scowled before shoving her aside, Acxa's eyes widening as she crashed into Zethrid. Zethrid sent her an unimpressed look and Acxa shrugged. 

Ezor gave Acxa a flat look before turning around to face Pidge. "Sorry about her, she just likes being emo." Acxa started to protest, Ezor smirking. Pidge grinned. 

"Then she and Keith would get along fine." 

Lotor felt his smile slipping before he coughed and smiled at full force again. "How about we forget about that for a while and you just enjoy yourself? Go on inside the limo, Katie. Make yourself comfortable." He held her by her shoulders, leading her inside the limo while throwing a smug look in Keith's direction. 

Keith scowled, looking to the side while Ezor just chuckled as she followed Acxa inside the limo. She was followed by Narti, Zethrid being the last person inside before closing the door behind her. 

The limo sped off, leaving Keith to stare after it while Matt frowned deep in thought. 

Shiro walked towards them, Allura behind him with a confused smile. 

"Is she gone?"

Keith nodded. "Yeah. Lotor went with all of them." He added while scowling. Allura's smile slipped and her eyes narrowed. 

"What?"

Keith nodded again. "I know. Me too."

Shiro sighed. "Listen, I get why Allura hates him and she has a right to do so, but you? Your reason for hating Lotor is frankly, very stupid."

Keith gaped at Shiro, brows scrunched in annoyance. "What?"

Shiro gave him an unimpressed look. "You obviously have some kind of attraction to Pidge, and seeing her with Lotor makes you jealous."

Matt gave Keith a suspicious look. "Yeah, Keith, what kind of attraction do you have for my sister? See something you like?" He gave Keith a pointed look, the poor boy looking at Shiro for help. 

Shiro gave Matt an exasperated look. "Matt, why are you getting overprotective now? You literally teased Keith about his crush on her last night."

Matt put a finger up to his chin. "Shiro, my best friend and gay lover-"

Allura snickered at the 'gay lover' part, trying to hide her smile by covering her mouth with her hand. Shiro sighed, smiling at Matt because he knew that that was just how Matt played around. 

"Matt."

"What? Anyways, I am the type of person that will bully Keith about his crush on my sister but I will also be overprotective because first of all, she's my sister. Second of all, in case you haven't noticed, I'm weird. I'm a weirdo. I-"

Shiro covered Matt's mouth with his hand.  
"Yeah we heard enough of that."

Matt pouted and Keith rolled his eyes, looking as he noticed Lance and Hunk approaching. The two waved and jogged up the front steps, Lance almost tripping before standing up straight and smiling like nothing had happened. 

"Sup guys. Wait, where's Pidge?"

Hunk looked around before turning to look at Keith. "She's gone already?" He was interrupted by Lance who quickly grabbed Allura by the shoulders. 

"Please tell me that she didn't wear makeup."

Allura smiled and shook her head. "No, she left without it. Just a really light lipgloss color." She snuck a look at Keith, who flushed a light shade of pink before looking away. Matt gagged. 

"Are you serious? Right in front of my salad? That's my sister, you emo fuck!" Matt said, making a face at Keith. Lance sent Keith a confused look. 

"What's up with him?"

Keith shrugged. "He's being weird again."

Lance snickered. "No one can be weirder than you though." He smirked when he saw Keith's brows furrow as he stood up straight, opening his mouth to argue with Lance before Shiro stood between them. 

"That's enough. Why are you two here, if you don't mind me asking?"

Hunk smiled. "Well, we wanted to come over and make sure Pidge was okay before she left for the mall. But, since she's not here I guess we'll be leaving." He shrugged. 

Lance shook his head. "No Hunk, we went over this. Remember?"

Hunk groaned. "Lance, I love you buddy but we can't just spy on Pidge. She deserves some privacy, you know."

Keith raised a brow and Matt grinned evilly. 

"Spying, eh?"

Allura grabbed Matt by the ear, causing him to screech. "You can't spy on Pidge on such an important day! She's finally making friends other than us!"

Matt screeched before tugging his ear free and rubbing it while scowling at her. "Shiro, your girlfriend is mean. Make her stop."

Shiro shrugged. "You honestly had it coming, Matt. Also, it's rude to spy on someone, Lance." 

Lance pouted. "Aw c'mon Shiro! Don't tell me you aren't even a little bit curious about what she's doing on a girls day out? It's Pidge for crying out loud!"

Keith frowned. "You're saying that as if she's not a girl. She hasn't been living under a rock, Lance. She knows how to be a girl just fine."

Allura blinked before sending him a warm smile, Keith nodding and sending her a small smile of his own. Lance just pouted. 

"But guys!"

Matt snickered. "Man, I'd be so down to go spying on my sister with you. I wanna see what Lotor does too. Maybe we'd even see what kind of conditioner he uses for his hair."

Lance frowned. "Wait what? Lotor's with them?" 

Keith nodded before shrugging. "I'm not saying that I would go spying just to make sure that Lotor doesn't try anything with her, but I would go spying just go make sure that he doesn't try something with her."

Hunk winced. "Keith, my man, we all know you're protective over Pidge but is spying on her really necessary?"

Keith shrugged again. "It is." He replied bluntly, looking off into the direction that the limo had taken off in. 

Allura sighed. "But even if we did go spying on Pidge we don't know her precise location."

Lance smirked. "You realize that we can check her location on Snapchat, right?"

Shiro gaped at all of them, looking at Allura for help. She shrugged. 

"Don't look at me. I'm not an adult."

"Allura you are literally twenty two."

"...I'm not a mature adult."

Matt snorted. "Same Allura, same. Also, Lance you're a genius. Marry me."

Lance placed a dramatic hand on his heart. "Alas, my heart belongs to another. You have made an offer that I must refuse." 

Matt pretended to be wounded, dramatically holding onto Shiro. "Shiro, hold me. He's so mean. He's hurting my heart."

Shiro sighed and ignored him. "Are you guys seriously going to spy on Pidge?"

Keith nodded with looking up from his phone. "Yep. Oh, found her." The group peered over to look at his phone, Lance smirked when he saw where Pidge was. 

"Space Mall? Seriously? That's like, the one mall where we all hang out. Finding her should be a cinch." 

Hunk sighed. "I'm going to say it now; this is a really bad idea."

Keith shrugged, already walking down the front steps. "We'll see what happens when the girl comes. Shiro, you're driving."

Shiro sighed. "This is a bad idea-wha,hey! Allura!"

Allura pulled the car keys out of his pockets, running down the steps and sitting inside his car. "Shiro, I love you but please move."

Matt smirked. "I like her. Bye Shiro!"

The group made their way into his car, Lance and Hunk sitting in the backseat while Keith and Matt sat in the middle. Shiro sighed before getting in, starting the car up. 

"I'm going to regret this later."

* * *

"I can't take you seriously with that hat." Ezor managed to say, snorting while Lotor tried on a fedora. 

Lotor frowned before turning to Pidge. "What do you think?"

Pidge shrugged. "It looks good, but I think you'd look better without a hat. Leave the fedoras to the guys with short hair."

Lotor looked in the mirror. "I'll cut my hair then."

Acxa and Ezor grimaced. Zethrid gagged and Narti shook her head. 

"With all due respect, Lotor, no."

Lotor chuckled. "I was joking, Acxa. I appreciate your opinion though."

Acxa shrugged. "I'm not only good at science, you know. I have some fashion sense."

"All of that is fashion sense that she learned from me." Ezor replied while proudly jutting her head out. Acxa just rolled her eyes and Zethrid snorted. 

"Try using that fashion sense to help out the people that need it."

Ezor shrugged before turning towards Lotor and pouting. "Can we please go to another store where me and Katie can look around and actually buy stuff? No offense, of course but we're bored! Right?" She winked at Pidge, who just nodded to play along with the taller girl. 

Lotor hummed. "Well, I suppose you give could  walk around for a while before we meet up for lunch. How long do you think that you'll be shopping?"

Ezor shrugged before counting on her fingers. "Well there's the one hour for the makeup department, and then there the other hour looking for dresses, another hour for-"

Lotor blinked. "I'm going to stop you right there, Ezor."

Ezor smiled cheekily. "You asked."

Zethrid shook her head before standing up. "Look, how about we all meet up at three to eat? Let's just go, I've been dying to check out that arcade that opened up last week!"

Acxa raised a brow. "We're going shopping, not to the arcade."

"Then I'll sneak off."

Lotor chuckled again and Pidge giggled lightly. 

"We'll all go to the arcade after eating lunch, then. It'll be the last stop before we drop Katie off at her house."

Pidge smiled. "Sounds cool to me." Ezor nodded in agreement, grinning at Lotor. 

"See you in a while, captain!" She waved as she pulled Pidge out the store, walking while talking about something that Lotor couldn't hear. 

They failed to notice the six pairs of eyes following them out of the store. Well, following Pidge. 

Lance raised a suspicious brow. "Where is Lotor?"

Matt snickered. "Maybe he's looking for a hat to cover the increasingly growing bald spot on his head."

He and Lance high fived, Keith and Hunk shaking their heads. 

"So what's the plan?"

Lance shrugged. "Let's just wander around the mall and check up on Pidge every once in a while. How about every five minutes?"

Keith sighed. "If she's not really with Lotor what's the point of this?"

Lance smirked. "I want to see Pidge try on pretty dresses."

"She's a queen without a pretty dress." Keith slapped a hand over his mouth, Matg gagging while the others smirked knowingly. 

"That's fucking disgusting. Shoot, they're heading towards the makeup department."

Lance and Allura gasped before getting up and running towards the makeup department, Hunk and Keith following after them while Shiro just sighed and walked after them.

* * *

Pidge eyed the eyeliner that Ezor was holding between her fingers with wary eyes. 

"Why are you holding eyeliner?"

Ezor smiled. "I wanna try it on you! Now sit! Acxa, tilt the mirror at a right angle so she can see how I'm doing it."

Acxa sighed. "I hate this job."

Zethrid snorted. "You hate this job, but not being bossed around by Lotor?"

Pidge frowned, her brow twitching. Ezor pouted. "Stay still Katie!"

Pidge smiled. "Sorry Ezor. What do you guys mean by being 'bossed' around? I thought you guys were friends with Lotor."

Acxa and Narti blinked before sending death glares at Zethrid who just shrugged. Ezor squinted her left eye, her tongue sticking out from the side of her mouth as she concentrated. 

"There! Looks pretty good if I do say so myself." She smiled proudly, watching Pidge look at herself in the mirror in awe. 

"Wow. My eyes make me look like a doll."

Ezor grinned and leaned down, holding Pidge's chin between her hands. "You have blessed eyes, Katie. They eyeliner just makes them look larger and cuter! You should totally wear it more often."

Acxa raised a brow. "How can she try it if she wasn't even watching you?"

Pidge shrugged. "She has a point. Besides, I'll just mess it up when I'm putting my goggles inside the science lab on."

Acxa perked up at the word 'science.' "You do lab? Which class?"

Pidge shrugged. "AP Chemistry. It kicks my ass sometimes because I'm better with computers and stuff like that, but I get through. Why?"

Acxa shrugged. "I just enjoy chemistry. It's kind of my favorite thing to do. I like memorizing reactions and thing like that. Makes me feel smart."

Narti chuckled, startling all four of them. "You are smart, Acxa."

She flushed a light shade of pink before coughing and returning to her serious pose. Pidge looked up to see Ezor who looked uncharacteristically serious. 

"Uh, Ezor?" The mentioned girl blinked before looking at Pidge and smiling. 

"Ignore them. I'll teach you all there is to know about applying makeup. Also, you and Acxa can talk about your nerdy stuff later. Do you want to try the blush?" She asked, looking at he options that were out on display for them to use. 

Acxa frowned. "But her complexion is fine."

Ezor raised a brow, inspecting Pidge's face. "Huh, you're right. Not a single zit to be seen. Girl I wish I had your complexion. Your skin is so soft!" She exclaimed, patting Pidge's cheek, making the smaller girl blush.

Acxa rolled her eyes. "You have a flawless complexion too, you just like using makeup for no reason." Her eyes widened as she realized what she has said, Zethrid raising a brow while smirking, Narti smiling knowingly while Ezor flushed a light shade of pink. 

She quickly turned around to face the makeup, snorting. "Pfft, yeah right. Katie is the one with the best complexion. Narti come sit down, I'm gonna try this lipstick on you."

Narti sighed before plopping down on the chair, removing her glasses and immediately squinting. Pidge smiled sympathetically. 

"I feel."

Narti sighed again. "Ezor, don't put eyeliner on me. Katie gets it, right?"

Pidge nodded. "Your eyes and mine are definitely fucked up, Narti. I'm getting blinder by the day."

Narti chuckled, turning around when Ezor pulled her towards her. "Sit still Narti, this is free use of good makeup and I'm not gonna miss this opportunity."

Acxa snorted from where she was standing, smiling fondly at Ezor. Pidge sent her a shit eating grin with knowing eyes, Acxa's eyes widening before she looked away while blushing at the floor. 

Zethrid gagged. "That's so gross."

Pidge snickered. "You're telling me. I spent my entire sixth grade year watching Allura and Shiro drool over each other while my brother simultaneously tried to stop them."

Zethrid shrugged. "Hetero relationships are weird. Now being a lesbian? That's where it's at." 

Pidge looked up at her. "You're lesbian?"

Zethrid tensed up for some unknown reason, crossing her arms. "Yeah. Why? Think I'm too 'manly like' to not be able to catch girls?"

Pidge blinked. "No, I was going to say that that's great. I myself am a proud bisexual, so yeah. No one in my friend group is straight. Being straight is boring."

Zethrid felt a smile form on her face. "Yeah. That's what I said."

She and Pidge shared smiles before Ezor stepped back from Narti's face. 

"And done! I should really become a makeup artist someday." She said out loud, eyeing Narti in admiration. Narti just sighed before putting her glasses back on. 

Acxa joined them again, turning around as if she had heard something. "What was that?"

Pidge looked around and shrugged. "Probably some wild little kid running around. Watch someone announce that a mom is looking for her lost kid."

Zethrid snickered. "Always happens."

Ezor tugged on Zethrid's sleeve, causing the slightly taller girl to look at her. "Your turn, then Acxa. If we like any of this stuff we'll buy it."

Zethrid sighed in annoyance. "You know I'll never wear this stuff, right? My time is spent trying to bl-"

Ezor quickly covered her mouth, looking around as people passed by before releasing her mouth. "You can't just say you blow things up for fun, even if it is jokingly! This is America! Everyone gets triggered by everything!" She hissed through clenched teeth. 

Pidge snorted and so did Acxa, the two trying to hide the grins on their faces. 

Zethrid rolled her eyes. "Like I care. Just now that this is one of the rare times that I'll allow you to put that stupid paint on my face."

"It's called makeup, Zethrid."

"Face paint. Just do it before I change my mind."

Ezor stuck her tongue out at her before putting it on her, Pidge and Narti watching them while Acxa kept glancing around.

* * *

Allura glared at Lance, swatting his arm from where they were hiding behind an earring stand. 

"You idiot, you almost got us caught!" She hissed. Lance shrugged, putting his hands up. 

"Hey it's not my fault that I care about Pidge's skin complexion too much! She just has beautiful skin that must be protected! But damn, eyeliner looks good on her."

Allura nodded. "Yeah, it makes her eyes pop out. Imagine Keith seeing her like that." A sly smile appeared on her features, Lance grinning devilishly. 

"I'm going to buy her eyeliner for Christmas and make sure Keith sees her using it." Lance said, rubbing his hands together. Allura grinned. 

"You are a genius." The two laughed softly before they were interrupted by Pidge's loud laughter followed by Acxa and Narti. 

Allura grimaced. "Maybe we should leave them alone now. They're okay, I guess." 

Lance shrugged. "I guess so. Let's leave, I think Shiro might get jealous at how much time you and I are spending together."

Allura snickered before smiling softly. "Shiro wouldn't. Let's just go." The two took off, ducking down to avoid being caught by the girls. Lance smiled when they got out and saw Allura heading straight towards Shiro. 

It made him sad in a way; the fact that he didn't have a romantic partner. Oh well. He'd just have to keep looking for the right one.

* * *

Pidge walked out of the makeup department with Ezor next to her, holding a bag that had her eyeliner and some lipgloss. 

"That was surprisingly fun. I've honestly never walked around for more than a few minutes in the makeup department." She said, blushing and twiddling a strand of hair in her fingers. 

Ezor blinked, raising a brow at Pidge. "Really?"

Pidge nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes I'd walk through there with Allura before running off to go check out another store that wasn't all full with makeup. I have to admit though, it feels nice hanging out with other girls and just doing girl things." She chuckled before flashing Ezor a smile. 

Ezor blinked before smiling. "Well I'm glad you liked hanging out in the makeup department with us. I have to admit, you are way better at staying still and allowing me to put makeup on you than Acxa." She said, smirking when Acxa rolled her eyes and looked to the side. 

"Shut up." 

Pidge burst out laughing, Ezor smiling at the sound of her laughter. Even she had to admit that hanging out with the shorter girl hadn't been such a bad thing. _I feel like we could actually get along really well. Oh boy._ She shook her head, Zethrid and Acxa exchanging looks while watching her. 

Zethrid coughed. "I think we should check out the arcade now. I've been dying to check out those games all week."

Pidge raised a brow. "Didn't Lotor say we'd all meet up later?"

"I hate you."

"Thanks a lot of people do."

Zethrid snorted, smiling in amusement before looking at Ezor. "Okay but seriously, where are we going now?"

Ezor shrugged. "I dunno. Clothes shopping? Ooh, let's give Katie a clothes makeover! Not that your clothes doesn't look nice because it looks great, but let's spice your closet up a bit."

Pidge shrugged. "Sure. Not my credit card so let's go wild."

Acxa raised a brow. "What do you mean, 'not my credit card'? Did you steal it?" She asked. Pidge shook her head before smirking. 

"I stole it from my brother when he wasn't looking. I punched him in the stomach and he doubled over so I stole his wallet. Pretty impressive if I do say so myself."

Both Zethrid and Acxa were grinning now, looking at her in amusement. 

"You seriously should join me for karate next week, Katie." Said Narti from behind them, her arms crossed. Ezor looked at her, brow raised. Nobody had ever made Narti talk as much as she was now. Maybe Katie was a good addition to their group. 

She clapped her hands, drawing the four out of their conversation. "That's cool and all, but clothes shopping? Let's stop by Forever 21."

Pidge gagged. "No. They have nice clothes, but then they put ridiculous logos and prints on the front of them. My mom once tried buying me a formal shirt from there before she realized that it had some weird hotdog logo on it ok the back. We've never walked in there ever since." She shuddered, crossing her arms. 

Acxa looked at Ezor who just shrugged. "I guess we'll be looking somewhere else. Ooh, how about Hollister? Maybe they have some nice jackets. Wait, I think that's H & M. Damn it. We'll just check both!" She decided, pulling Pidge along as they headed off towards H & M.

* * *

Keith sat at the top of the stairs, eyeing Pidge as she entered H & M with the girl group. Matt snorted before his widened. 

"Is she wearing eyeliner?"

Keith's eyes widened before he squinted, feeling his face flush when he got a clear view of her face. _Why the fuck does she look so cute?_ Her naturally large eyes looked like they belonged to a doll, and Keith loved it. He liked her without eyeliner too but he wasn't complaining about this change. 

Matt eyed Keith. "You really like her, don't you?"

Keith flushed a deeper shade of red as he lowered his head into his hands. "Ugh, don't tel me. I'm stupid, I know. I'm sorry."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Please, stop acting like a blushy hormonal teenager. You're as bad as Shiro when he was crushing on Allura. But I digress, I digress. We can all tell that you like Pidge. Well, everyone except her."

"And you're not mad?"

"Oh I'd be mad if I knew that you were dating her because, yunno, I'm her older brother. It's the older brother code to protect any younger sibling from dating. But since you're not gonna make a move I don't see anything happening. So I'll just sit here and drink this water while we stalk the girls. I can't believe Shiro used this time to ask Allura out on a date." 

Keith snorted. "It's Shiro. Plus, there's Carvel here. He and Allura are both suckers for ice cream."

Matt shrugged. "That's true. Wait, what the hell are they doing?"

* * *

Ezor pulled a dress off the rack, adding it the collection that she already had in her arms. Acxa raised a questioning brow. 

"Are you sure that isn't too many dresses?"

"No shut up and leave me be, Acxa. These are for Katie, obviously. You can check out some dresses if you want to, guys. I'm going to focus on helping Katie though."

Pidge snorted. "Ezor, I think the eight dresses you have in your arms are enough. Seriously, I don't even know if I'll buy all these."

Ezor scoffed. "Nonsense, you're taking all of them. Now shoo, try them on!" She smiled as she pushed Pidge into the dressing room, closing the door and smirking when she heard the girl sigh. 

She sat with Zethrid, watching her reject and approve the dresses that Acxa was pulling off the racks. Well, the dresses that Ezor had left. 

Five minutes later, Pidge hesitantly called out. 

"Ezor? What do you think of this dress?" 

Ezor and the girls stopped chattering to look at Pidge, who had walked out wearing a light green dress that came up to her knees. Ezor smiled. 

"That looks great!"

"Fuck it up Katie!"

Narti clapped, Acxa slowly letting a smile show on her face as she gave Pidge a thumbs up. Pidge blushed, looking down at the dress. 

"I like it."

Ezor chuckled. "Then buy it, silly! But try on the other ones, I wanna see how they look on you."

Pidge laughed lightly before grinning and closing the door, taking the dress off and putting another one one. This was the process for the next hour as they all tried on different dresses and walked out to show the others. 

When it was Acxa's turn to try on a dress, she came out with a blue dress that complimented her eyes. Ezor blushed before coughing, Zethrid snickering and Narti smirking. 

Pidge rolled her eyes at Ezor before smiling up at Acxa. "It looks great. Blue is definitely your color."

Acxa froze, blinking before slowly smiling. "Thanks." She walked back inside the dressing room, changing back into her normal clothes. 

Ezor finished coughing, standing up. "I'm going to uh, go find something to drink. I'll be back." She ran out of the store, Pidge and Zethrid snickering. 

"Is she always like this?" Pidge asked Zethrid with an amused face. Zethrid just snorted. 

"You have no idea. They're so gay for each other that it hurts."

Narti nodded. "They deny their feelings despite it being so obvious. The only ones oblivious to said feelings are them."

Acxa walked out of the dressing room with the dresses and jeans that she had picked, brows furrowing. "Where's Ezor?"

Zethrid shrugged. "Getting a drink because she was thirsty." She sent Pidge and Narti a knowing look to which the two just snickered at. 

Acxa sent them a confused look before shrugging. "Alright I guess. Hey, let's pay for our stuff."

Pidge raised a brow. "What about Ezor's stuff?"

Acxa smiled. "I'll handle it."

Zethrid smirked. "Such couple goals."

Acxa flushed a deep shade of red and the girls laughed, heading towards the cashier to pay.

* * *

Matt raised a brow. "That is not what I expected my sister to buy. But that purple dress she brought looked nice, don't you think? Keith?"

He turned to look at Keith who looked like he was in shock while staring at the ground. Matt rolled his eyes before smacking him in the head. 

"What the fuck?"

"See something you like, Red?" Matt leaned in closer, eyeing Keith up and down. Keith scooted away from him, deciding to stand up. 

"Matt, can we just go meet up with everyone for lunch? You're being annoying."

Matt gasped. "Don't be fucking rude! But okay, let's eat."

He ran off quickly to not be seen by Pidge and Keith rolled his eyes before quickly following him out. They met up with the others at a table on the far side of the food court, far away from where Lotor was sitting at. 

After ordering food, Keith rolled his eyes as he plopped into his chair. "How was the ice cream, Shiro?"

Shiro blinked before sheepishly smiling and rubbing the back of his neck. "It was good. Thanks?"

Keith snorted before eyeing Pidge as she came with the rest of the girls to sit down and eat with Lotor. Immediately Lotor peeked up and-wait. Was that a blush on his face?

Keith growled, gripping his drink harder as he watched Lotor talk to Pidge. Lance rolled his eyes. 

"Dude, you're going to spill the soda all over the place and then we're going to attract more attention to ourselves. Don't be stupid."

Keith sighed before turning around to face his friends, wincing when he heard the laughter coming from Lotor's table. He glanced back only to see Pidge smiling and talking animatedly to Lotor, the boy listening to her with great interest. He scowled before turning around, Allura sending him a sympathetic look. 

"Keith, its only for a few more hours. At the very least, I'd say that there's a chance that they'll leave around six since this mall does close around seven. Why don't you look around to see if there's anything you'd like to buy next week when we come back with Pidge? It'll take your mind off of things."

Keith frowned before sending Allura a small appreciative smile. "Thanks Allura."

Hunk sighed. "Man, I saw Shay and she invited me to shop with her but they went off to continue shopping. I decided to come eat with you guys because well, you are my closest friends."

Lance cooed. "Aw, that's so sweet! Hunk, marry me."

"If we haven't married anyone in ten years then sure buddy."

"It's a deal!"

The two laughed before Lance started talking about the tale of Pidge and the makeup, Keith inhaling to forget about his jealousy.

* * *

Pidge eyed the arcade room, eyes glistening with delight as she looked at all the games. 

"This looks really cool."

Lotor chuckled. "Sure does. Want me to hold your bags?"

Pidge smiled. "That's nice of you but I think you have enough with the others." She said, eyeing the nine bags that he was carrying. 

Lotor just shook his head. "Really, it's no big deal. Just hand them over so you can head on over to the games with the girls. I promise I won't look through the bags."

Pidge laughed. "Okay, but if you get tired just give them back. I don't want to have you break your back or something by carrying too many things at once."

Lotor shrugged, taking the three bags that she had. "It's fine. Now go on; I think you'll be a worthy opponent for Zethrid in the games she wants to play."

Pidge smiled before sending him a peace sign. "Thanks Lotor!"

Lotor watched her go, smiling. As soon as she was out of sight he placed the bags on the ground and allowed his hands to breathe again. Stupid bags. Although, seeing Pidge trust his girls made him pleased. The plan was working out fine. So why was he still so unsure that devolving feelings for her and inviting her out was such a bad idea? He shook those thoughts from his head before heading out towards the limo. He was not going to carry the bags around for another two hours.

* * *

Pidge rounded to corner to see Zethrid sitting at one of those rides where one could pretend to be a street racer, Narti next to her. Ezor and Acxa were cheering each girl on, Ezor cheering for Narti and Acxa cheering for Zethrid. 

Pidge walked towards them, standing next to Ezor. "Street Racing? Seriously?" Zethrid shushed her from her seat, obviously getting into a competitive mode. 

"Narti that was a dick move!"

"Eat my ass, puta."

The three behind them burst out laughing at hearing Narti curse at Zethrid, the girl just smirking as she watched Zethrid frown. 

Acxa turned to face Ezor who was red from laughing and she blushed. Pidge smiled before casually walking over to stand next to her. They remained in silence watching Zethrid and Narti race while Ezor cheered them on before Pidge broke said silence. 

"You should tell her."

Acxa looked down at her, face pink. "What?"

Pidge smirked. "Look, its obvious that you like Ezor and before you tell me that she doesn't like you back, I'll tell you that she does. She literally got so red when you walked out wearing that killer dress. Also, all of us here think that it's very obvious that you like each other."

Acxa looked to the side, face still pink. Pidge sent her a smile. "I know you might be scared at first, but it'll work out great. You've just gotta take some risks."

Acxa looked back at her and smiled fondly. "You're the first person that has ever had enough balls to call me out on my crush. I guess it's time I should make a move. Thanks." She then looked back at the screen, cheering Zethrid on while wearing a smile on her face.

* * *

Hunk looked around nervously as he walked into the arcade, making sure to look out for Pidge. Shay sent him a questioning look. 

"Are you okay? You look uh, really scared for some reason. Is everything alright?" 

Hunk looked at her and flashed her a smile. "Uh no, it's just that. Ah, my friends decided that it would be a good idea to spy on Pidge during her day out with Lotor and his friends because they think he's sketchy. We're trying not to be caught."

Shay made an 'o' with her mouth, suddenly understanding. She smiled at him. "It's okay, I think it's really sweet that you guys are taking precautions to make sure Pidge is safe. Would you like to play a game with me before the arcade closes?"

Hunk smiled. "Shay, I'd love to."

She giggled and they headed off towards the back of the arcade to play a game, far away from the danger zone where Pidge was.

* * *

Pidge turned the wheel around, leaving Ezor to pout as she came in second. 

"That's not fair, you've had experience!"

"Ezor this is the first time I've come inside the arcade. I haven't been to the mall in months."

"...You still suck." She stuck her head up in the air acting offended and Pidge just chuckled. 

"Whatever Ezor. So who- oh hey Lotor." She greeted him with a wave of her hand and a smile, Lotor smiling back at her. 

Ezor looked around. "Where's our bags?"

Lotor chuckled. "Back in the car. I want to play too, you know. Scoot over, Ezor."

Ezor shrugged. "Be my guest. But be careful, Katie loves to cheat."

"Pidge."

The five of them looked at her in confusion. Acxa raised a brow. "What?"

"Pidge. Call me Pidge." She smiled at them, and never more had Ezor regretted asking someone out to spend time with her. Apparently Acxa, Zethrid and Narti were thinking the same thing based on the looks of shock on their faces. 

Lotor smiled. "Well, Pidge, I'm sure you aren't a cheater like Ezor says. Are you sure you just aren't a sore loser, Ezor?"

Ezor gasped indignantly, pressing a hand on her heart. "How rude of you to think that I would lie! I am incapable of lying, I'll have you know."

Zethrid snorted. "That's the biggest lie that I've heard."

Acxa and Narti chuckled, Ezor rolling her eyes. "It was a joke, Zethrid. Duh!" 

Pidge snorted. "Move so Lotor can sit. I'm gonna beat his ass in his game." Before Lotor could respond, Lance screeched from his place across the arcade. Pidge frowned as she looked around suspiciously. 

"I know that screech. LANCE WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

Lance sheepishly poked his head around the corner. "Hey Pigeon! I didn't know you were here. What a pleasant surprise!"

She scowled. "Are you seriously spying on me? Who sent you? Was it Keith? I'm begging it was Keith."

Ezor just raised an unimpressed brow before waving a finger and Lance. "Didn't your momma ever tell you that spying is rude?"

Lance pouted. "Hey, I just followed Hunk here! He's here with Shay and I tagged along because I am so not going to spend another day trying to help Sophia woo Anna who is dense as fuck. Besides, Keith is annoying but he respects you. So leave me alone-oh shit. I GOTTA GO." A funny look passed on his face before he ran out of the store, pulling Hunk along with him who just looked confused. 

Two blurs passed in front of them and Pidge swore that she smelt Matt's shampoo. The group of six blinked before watching them be chased by the mall police. 

Ezor shook her head. "Boy, I would hate to be those people being chased by the cops." 

"Same."

* * *

Keith ran as fast as his legs could carry him, Matt looking like he deeply regretted his life choices. 

"GO GO GO KEITH!"

"THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CHALLENGE SOMEONE TO A FIGHT. YOU ALWAYS END UP BAILING AND I HAVE TO SHOW THEM MY KNIFE TO STOP THEM FROM KILLING YOU!"

"LESS SHOUTING AND MORE RUNNING! OH HEY SHIRO, WE NEED TO GO HOME NOW!"

Shiro dropped Allura's shopping bag as the two stared at the running boys with great confusion on their faces. 

"What the-"

"SHIRO GET TO THE FUCKING CAR!"

Shiro and Allura both took off running and caught up to Lance and Hunk, who looked like they were dying. 

"What happened now?"

"APPARENTLY KEITH FLASHED SOMEONE HIS KNIFE!"

"WHAT THE FUCK KEITH."

"KEEP FUCKING RUNNING TAKASHI!"

"THIS IS WORSE THAN WHEN WE GOT KICKED OUT FOR PIDGE AND LANCE STEALING COINS FROM THE FOUNTAIN!"

"SHUT UP AND RUN!"

The team screamed as they made it out of the mall and into Shiro's car, Allura rapidly slamming on the pedal to dash out of the parking lot. 

"I'm never going shopping with you guys ever again."

* * *

The rest of the day was spent in the arcade for Pidge and the gang, Pidge beating almost everyone at every game there was. Everyone except Lotor. 

"Oh come on, again? That's so not fucking fair!"

Lotor laughed, eyeing the screen. "I don't cheat, Pidge." She stuck her tongue out at him before glancing at her phone and gasping. 

"It's already seven. Oh shit, the mall closes at seven."

Ezor twisted to the side, stretching and grinning once hearing the satisfying crack of her spine. "Yeah it does. This was a good day, in my opinion. Let's get you home before your mom doesn't let you come out with us anymore."

Pidge laughed. "Okay." She and Lotor walked out together, the two bickering about why Pidge had lost and that she was a sore loser. 

Lotor opened the door for Pidge, letting her inside. She snickered. "What a gentleman." Lotor pretended to tip his imaginary hat at her, Ezor snorting from behind him. 

"Would the gentleman please let us four inside too?" She asked, a teasing smile on her face. Lotor shook his head and chuckled before letting them inside, closing the door behind them as he let the driver know that they had to stop at Pidge's house first. 

As the car took off, Ezor grinned at Pidge. "Sooooo. Are you going to wear those new dresses anytime soon? Maybe to school? I bet you'd attract a lot of attention but wearing those cute dresses."

Lotor raised a brow. "Dresses? Pidge, you wear dresses?"

Acxa and Ezor both sent him dirty looks, Zethrid shaking her head while Narti pinched the bridge of her nose. Pidge snickered. 

"Of course I wear dresses. I may love baggy clothes and ripped jeans, but I also really like dresses. I'm not going to show up to prom in a pair of jeans, am I?" She chuckled lightly, the other four girls dropping their amused expressions to those of remorse. 

Lotor hummed. "Is that so? Any particular theme for prom, by the way? I mean, you are helping Principle Coran plan prom."

Pidge shrugged. "There isn't really much of a theme yet, but the official colors for the napkins and stuff were discussed. We settled for three main colors. Really cliche too."

Lotor looked expectantly at Ezor, who just frowned before rapidly smiling and leaning in. 

"Ooh, what are the colors? I need to start planning what dress I'm going to buy for prom!"

Pidge shrugged. "It's the typical blue, gold and black them that students at Altea High have used for years. Oh, and prom queen and king was discussed."

Ezor gasped. "Wow. You all better vote for me when I run for prom queen!" She laughed and sent Acxa a pleading look, the girl just frowning before opening her mouth. 

"We all know that the prom queen and king are hand chosen by the principle because there's no way that the student body will be able to vote honestly for who they want."

Ezor sent her a bored expression. "Aren't you just a ray of sunshine." Acxa shrugged, leaning back before popping a piece of bubblegum into her mouth. 

"You asked."

Pidge chuckled. "We're trying to make sure that there's a fair voting system and since we want to make sure no one fucks with the votes we've decided to make sure they're always with Coran."

Zethrid snorted, playing along with Ezor and Acxa. "So he's gonna be guarded really well, huh?"

Pidge shrugged. "I guess so. We'll see when we get there. Ezor, are you okay? You look weird."

Ezor but her lip before shrugging and waving her off. "I'm okay, just tired. Today was so much fun, Pidge. You should really hang out with us again sometime."

Pidge grinned. "Yeah, I liked it too. A lot, actually. You guys seem pretty nice too. I can't wait for us to grow into better friends." 

Ezor felt her stomach slosh around inside her, Acxa's straight face turning into a frown while Zethrid just straight out turned away from her to look out the window. Narti just looked down at her watch, fiddling with it. 

Ezor forced a smile onto her face, grinning cheerily. "Yep!" It felt wrong now. Everything didn't make sense. One day with Pidge and they had already started feeling sympathy for the girl that just wanted to be friends with more girls. To be friends with them. It hurt, and by the looks of the other three girls, they were thinking the same thing. 

Lotor seemed to have caught on so he coughed, sending Pidge one of those dashing smiles of his as the limo rolled to a stop. "It's been a pleasure having you with us today, Pidge. Let me help you with your bags."

"No I've got them-"

"Please. It'd look foolish of me not to do so."

Pidge sent him a smile. "I guess so."

Lotor gathered her bags in his hand, opening the door and getting out first before letting her out. Pidge bid the girls goodbyes and promised to text them later, only Ezor and Acxa waving a goodbye while Zethrid and Narti sent her smiles. 

Lotor closed the door, but not before giving the girls a pointed look. They sighed and looked down, Lotor closing the door and jogging up to catch up to Pidge. 

"Did you enjoy yourself today?"

"Definitely. I really loved hanging out with you and the girls. It felt really nice to be around more girls for once."

Lotor chuckled. "You're welcome to join us anytime." He rang the doorbell, BaeBae immediately barking while Matt yelled at him to shut up. 

Pidge snorted and rolled her eyes. "My brother is stupid." Lotor smiled, turning to face her. 

"Eyeliner looks good on you, by the way."

Pidge blushed before looking away, a small smile on her face as she did so. Matt groaned as he got to the door, gasping when he peeked through the peephole and saw that it was Pidge 

Throwing the door open, he crossed his arms and looked at the bags. "Woah. That's three bags more than usual!"

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Hardee-har-har, very funny Matt. Look, just let me in, I'm tired. You wouldn't know that since you probably sort the day with Shiro and Allura playing video games."

A look of panic flashed on Matt's face before he chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah we totally spent the day playing video games. Totally. MOM SHE'S BACK AND SHE ACTUALLY BROUGHT BACK CLOTHES! Wait, is that makeup?"

He tried to reach for the bag, Lotor moving it away from him in amusement with one brow raised. Matt pouted. 

"Let him let me see!"

"Nah."

Colleen appeared at the door, smiling as she saw the two standing there. "Katie, you're back! Oh hello Lotor! Would you like to come inside for a drink of water? Maybe some cookies? I just pulled a delicious batch of cookies out of the oven a few minutes ago."

Lotor smiled and politely shook his head. "I appreciate the hospitality, Mrs. Holt, but I'm afraid that I must decline your offer. I do still need to drop off the rest of the girls at their respective homes."

Colleen nodded. "Yes, I suppose so. Well, thank you for escorting her from the car to here. There's been a rabid raccoon wandering streets and I would die if Katie got bitten by it!"

Matt blinked. "At this point I'm not even sure if she's talking about an actual raccoon or a man." Pidge just shrugged and looked up to Lotor who just chuckled. 

"The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Holt. Have a wonderful evening. Goodbye, Pidge." He handed her her bags and waved before heading down the steps back into the limo. Pidge smiled and waved back before stepping inside the house, only to be met with her mom looking at her. 

"What?"

"Are you wearing eyeliner?"

Pidge subconsciously tugged on her hair again. "Is it too much?"

Colleen blinked before smiling at her daughter. "No sweetie it looks just fine. I love it."

Math coughed. "Excuse me for interrupting but I think you should go upstairs. There's a very anxious Keith that's been pacing around in his room and examining his knife for a good hour now."

Pidge rolled her eyes and smiled fondly. "Stupid Keith. I'll be back down for dinner in a while, mom. Just let me reassure Keith that I'm still alive."

Colleen chuckled. "You do that."

Pidge grinned before she ran up the stairs, heading into her room and throwing her bags on the bed. Keith looked up from where he was sitting on his bed and a huge smile broke out on his face. 

"Pidge you're back!"

She laughed. "Miss me much? And please tell me you weren't cleaning your knife for the umpteenth time. Seriously, you act like you got blood on it when you haven't gotten any on it. Except maybe your own."

Keith blinked, hesitantly putting his knife down upon remembering that he had been chased by the cops for having his knife out. He was so lucky that they hadn't gotten a clear picture of him. 

Pidge snickered. "Good boy. Now how was your day?"

Keith shrugged, trying to act like he hadn't spent the day stalking her. "It was cool I guess. Hunk and Lance came over for a while after you left. Then they left."

"Oh yeah I saw them at the mall. They ran out as soon as the cops started chasing two guys. Don't know why though." She shrugged and Keith choked on his spit, rapidly pounding on his chest. 

"Are you okay?"

He waved her off, trying to calm down his coughs. "I-I'm fine. I'm fine, yeah. I'm definitely fine. So how was the day with Lotor?" He asked, trying not to look like he was grimacing. 

Pidge rolled her eyes. "I can see you grimacing. What do you think; Lotor and I made out while playing arcade games? You need to stop thinking that he and I are something that we're not."

Keith smiled sheepishly. "It's just a habit. Also, is that eyeliner?"

Pidge looked at him. "No it's horse shit; of course it's eyeliner."

"Could've fooled me."

She threw a headband that had been on her desk at him, Keith chuckling as he ducked to avoid it. Pidge rolled her eyes and pouted playfully. 

"I'm going to tell my mom that you're bullying me."

"Bring me back to the good old days."

Pidge snickered before smiling. "We've come a long way from there, emo."

Keith smiled back at her. "Yeah. We have. But you're still a piece of shit."

"I am the salt shaker. You, on the other hand,  are the biggest piece of shit that I've met." 

They both dissolved into peals of laughter, their laughs mixing together harmoniously as they sat on their windowsills and looked up at the moon in silence. And in that moment, with Pidge's eyes sparkling as the stars reflected through them, Keith realized how much he loved her and that he would do anything to keep her safe. 

Anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to be 5K words but it ended up being 10K lmao. I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I really loved writing the girls interactions with Pidge. Feedback is greatly appreciated!


	13. Scared of Happy

Ever since she was a child, Pidge had always loved to sit on the roof and gaze up at the sky during the night. She would climb up and sit on the roof, sitting in silence while talking to whoever was up there with her.

Tonight was no different. 

The breeze felt cool against her face as she looked up at the sky, the stars twinkling in her eyes. Her parents knew about her habit of staying up late just to stare at the sky and they respected it, not bothering her when she did so. 

But then there was Matt. Matt, her older brother who loved to stick his nose in people's business. Like Hunk, once he asked a question she couldn't evade it because he would keep bugging her until she'd finally answer him. 

So when she heard familiar footsteps walking towards her, she knew she was in for a long conversation with Matt. 

Matt cautiously made his way towards her, sitting down before kicking his legs out and leaning back comfortably on his arms. The two sat in silence, watching the stars. 

Pidge sighed. "Spit it out, Matt."

Matt snorted. "Can't I just come out here and enjoy the stars? You know I can't see them from the city."

"Matt, Altea University literally has a planetarium across the street from it. You can see the stars there."

"It's not the same. Besides, I kinda wanna talk to you about something." He said casually, ignoring how she turned to face him. 

"What do you want?"

Matt sighed, sitting up before facing her. "Do you like Keith?"

Pidge screeched before turning her head around away from him, Matt raising a brow. 

"Pidge? Wait. Holy shit you actually-"

"Yes I do and there's no way he's like me back so no I'm not going to tell him okay? Now go away before he hears."

Matt rolled his eyes. "It's literally twelve in the morning on a Sunday night. You and I both know that Keith sleeps at eleven like a weakling on Sunday's."

Pidge pursed her lips, looking to the side with a fond look. "He does it because he goes to the gym before school starts, dumbass."

Matt gagged. "That's disgusting."

"What's disgusting, your face?" She batted her eyelashes innocently as she turned to look at him, Matt gasping. 

"Hey! I'll have you know that I work hard to keep my skin looking beautiful. Believe me, I drive the ladies wild." He replied confidently, running a hand through his messy hair Pidge just snorted. 

"That explains why you're single."

Matt glared at her. "At least I try to ask people out, unlike you. You stay stuck on the same guy for a few months and you won't even tell him."

He was surprised to see a funny look on her face, Pidge looking like she was amused. "What?"

"Did you say 'for a few months,' Matt?"

"I'm pretty sure you're not deaf, so yes that's what I said."

Pidge snorted. "Just wanted to make sure. And I mean, sure whatever floats your boat oh idiot brother of mine. It's not like I haven't been crushing on Keith since the eight grade."

The expression of shock that immediately appeared on Matt's face made Pidge burst out laughing as she doubled over, clutching her stomach as tears streamed down her face. Matt just stared at her with his mouth agape, looking between her and Keith's house. 

"Matt you're going to attract flies." She stated bluntly as her laughter ceased, her annoyance with Matt being shocked increasing. 

Matt, however, kept staring at her and then turning to Keith's house. Pidge frowned in annoyance before slapping his face, the sound of impact resonating throughout the crisp November night. Matt immediately howled, recoiling away from her. He glared at her, mouth opening to say something when the duo heard BaeBae howling inside. 

Pidge snorted and Matt scowled, his index finger up and pointing at her accusingly. 

"You son of a bitch! Why the fuck did you slap me? Now it's going to leave a fucking mark!"

Pidge shrugged. "You were being annoying."

Matt sent her an incredulous look. "You slapped me for being annoying?"

"Keith learned how to deal with it in fourth grade, so I think you can be a big boy and learn too."

Matt pouted before his eyes widened and narrowed again, staring at her. "So what is this about liking Keith since eight grade that you were talking about?"

Pidge looked at him and put a hand to her hip. "Look Matt, I don't want everyone to know what I feel. I have less of a chance to get hurt that way," she added as she looked down, turning her head away from her brother. 

Matt blinked, frowning as he edged towards her cautiously. She saw him from the corner of her left eye and she rolled both her eyes. 

"Matt I can see you."

Matt shrugged. "Look, I might not be the best person to given a pep talk,-"

"That's Shiro." She replied drily. 

Matt sent her an unamused look. "My boyfriend." He corrected before coughing. "-Like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted-"

"Shiro isn't into threesomes, last time I checked."

"Pidge shut up! No, don't say anything. I'm done being interrupted. It's hard enough trying to act like a mature person, please shut up and let me try."

" 'Matt' and 'mature' do not belong in the same sentence."

" 'Pidge' and 'nice' don't belong in the same sentence either." He said pointedly while glaring at her. She just shrugged. 

Matt sighed and pinched his nose before breathing in and out. "Okay okay, let me just co down."

"You weren't hot in the first place."

"Katie! Okay, no, I'm done. I'm not going to give you advice or any pep talk." He waved his hands wildly before turning away from her, obviously sulking. 

Pidge pouted mockingly. "Aw, why not?' I'm dying to hear what you have to say, Matt! Let me see how much of an effect that Shiro has had on you other than your obvious pining."

"Leave my heart out of this, Pigeon Holt."

"If I were to go undercover like a detective or something, that would make a good name."

"Nah, Pidge Gunderson would."

"Why?"

"Gunderson sounds like an appropriate name to match with Pidge. I've heard the name somewhere, but I don't remember where." Matt said while scratching his head, mouth in a slight pout as he tried to recall where he had heard the name.

Pidge eyed him incredulously, mouth agape. "Are you serious? Mom's maiden name is Gunderson! How fucked up can you be that you don't even remember mom's last name?"

Matt gasped before snapping his fingers. "Holy shit I remember! It's mom's last name! Also fuck you I knew that already. Hey, since you know so much about mom how about you ask her for a pep talk? You obviously don't think I can do it."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "You're so sensitive. Dude, seriously, tell me what you were thinking and I'll tell you if it's shitty or cringe."

"You're so caring." Matt replied drily as Pidge just sent him a teasing grin. He then sighed and turned towards her, crossing his legs as he did so. 

"Don't interrupt me or I'm really going. Okay, so you like Keith right? Since the eight grade, apparently. I don't know how you liked greasy bowl cut head in the eight grade-"

"Hey!"

"-but you still did. Shut up I'm talking. Anyways. You've apparently liked Keith for a while now, and you still haven't told him because, -let me get this straight- you're scared that he won't feel the same?" He eyed her incredulously, Pidge glaring at him while pulling her arms up to hug herself. 

"What?"

"That's one of the most stupidest things I've heard."

"Wow, so encouraging."

Matt shook his head before raising a hand to pat her head, causing the girl to scowl and swat his hand away while he just cackled. He then gave one final chuckle before sitting back and giving her a sincere soft smile. 

"Look, Katie, I might not be best person in giving pep talk, but let me tell you something. You aren't getting nowhere by not telling him. You're a salty but great girl and sure you might be scared but you have to tell him eventually or you'll never tell him and cry when he appears with a new boyfriend or girlfriend. You have a chance, so take it and make sure that you tell that fucker how you feel." 

Pidge smiled at the moon before snorting and turning towards her brother with a smirk. Math shrugged. 

"What?"

"That was cheesy as fuck holy shit." She replied while laughing at him, Matt rolling his eyes before playfully swatting at her. He then became thoughtful again. Pidge stopped laughing to look at him, brow arched in confusion. 

"What happened to you?"

"You're like that one Demi song where she doesn't want to tell the guy she likes that she's in love with him because she's scared. What's it called, uh, 'Catch Me?' "

"Why do you listen to Demi?"

"Why not? She's a queen, you know." He retorted while saying it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Matt, if there's anyone that should be talking it definitely isn't you. You've been pining for Shiro since forever." 

Matt sighed before wistfully looking out into the starry sky, Pidge frowning as she edged towards him. 

"Are you okay? I didn't mean it, you know."

"No, you're right. I liked Shiro since he moved in, and I didn't say anything. Don't get me wrong, I love Allura to death. She makes Shiro so happy and I could never take that happiness away from him. But it just, kind of hurts I guess? I don't know." He bit the inside of his cheek, looking down at his hands. 

Pidge looked at him in sympathy before scooting closer and placing a hand on his shoulder. She sighed, closing her eyes before opening them and looking up at the sky. 

"Of course it's going to hurt, dumbass. But it's better to just accept it and move on if there's nothing you can do about it. Just, remember that you were there for Shiro through the ups and downs of life and be the best best man you can be at his wedding." 

Matt smiled at her. "Thanks."

Pidge smiled back and coughed, getting up and extending a hand towards her brother. Matt took it and pulled himself up, glaring at his sister playfully when she pretended to push him. She just shrugged innocently before climbing back inside the house through the hole in the roof, leaving Matt to roll his eyes and follow her back inside.

* * *

Shiro breathed sharply through his nose, closing his eyes and sighing as he exhaled. Robotic's club was getting more interesting by the minute with new ideas everywhere, but it was taking a toll on him. The screams from each table when an idea was added left his ears ringing by the time he walked out and he frankly needed a break. 

Allura frowned as she spotted him from across the room, excusing herself from the group that she was helping before walking towards him. Concern was etched on her face, her hands reaching out to rub soothing circles on his back once she was by his side. 

Concerned, she stared into his eyes and placed a hand on his forehead. "Are you alright? You don't look too well. You can leave early, you know. I won't have a hard time handling them."

Shiro sent her a warm smile and holding her hand in his, he brought it down from his forehead and kissed it softly before intertwining their fingers. Allura's eyes widened before she softly smiled, shaking her head in fond amusement. 

Shiro smiled up at her. "I'm okay, just kind of tired. I promise I'll be okay, Allura." Allura smiled softly at him, running her free hand through his hair. 

"You silly man. I hope you keep your promise, Shiro, or I might just send you to the couch today."

Matt rolled his eyes from where he was at Pidge's table, gagging loud enough for both Allura and Shiro to hear him. "That's so sweet; it's sickening!" He shouted, gagging some more as Pidge sent him an unimpressed look and Keith snorted from his place beside her. 

Allura sighed, feigning annoyance with Matt as Shiro just chuckled in amusement from his place at his desk. The duo turned away from them and continued their own private conversation, making Keith raise a brow in amusement. 

"It hasn't even been ten minutes and they're already amping up the mushy-ness. Bets on how mushy they can get today?" Asked Pidge, briefly looking up from her notebook with a questioning look. Hunk hummed, putting a finger up to his chin. 

"Considering that it's Allura and Shiro, they are capable of putting on music and dancing to it together or bringing out some snacks to feed each other." He said, shrugging. Lance shook his head. 

"No no, you've got it all wrong. You know how Shiro does that forehead snuggle after he kisses Allura?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah? What about it?"

Lance grinned. "I'm saying that they're going to try and sneak kisses here and there before Shiro just brings her in for a big good old fashioned dip kiss and snuggles his forehead against hers after they do it." He sat back with his arms crossed, obviously looking pleased with himself. 

Pidge put her pen up to her mouth, tapping it methodically as she processed what he said. She then shrugged before sending him a skeptical look. 

"I know Shiro is cheesy, but is he really that cheesy? I mean, he does value his job."

Lance immediately put a finger up to her mouth, shushing her as she blinked and scowled at him. He flashed her a toothy grin before propping his legs up on the desk, leaning back on his chair and then proceeded to wave his hand dismissively at her. 

"Look Pidge, you don't understand because you aren't in a relationship. As a person who has been in a relationship, I can guarantee that Shiro would most definitely do it."

Pidge cocked her head to the side, sending Lance a fake pout. "Aw man, guess I'm wrong once again! I mean, if the guy that goes through girls faster than he goes through his socks tells me so then it must be true," she replied sarcastically while sending him a taunting look. 

Lance stopped grinning before he tried to sit up, the bottom of his chair slipping under his weight and he ultimately screeched as he fell. His head banged on the floor with a loud thud that resonated throughout the room, all four at the table wincing as Lance groaned and remained on the ground. 

Matt whistled from his place on top of the desk he was sitting on, looking down at Lance with amusement. "I can't believe Lance is fucking dead."

Lance groaned again, muttering a 'fuck you' aimed at Matt before shoving his middle finger in the air, Keith rolling his eyes. 

"Stop being so dramatic, Lance."

"If there's any dramatic person here, it has to be you, Mullet."

Keith's amused look turned into a sour one as he touched his hair self consciously. "Enough about my hair already!"

Pidge sighed and leaned on her arm, tapping the pen in her hand rapidly on the notebook that she had been writing in since they had entered the room. 

Hunk sent her a sympathetic smile, raising a finger. "Just a tick, Pidge. I'll have Lance up and participating in no time."

She sent him a grateful smile, turning back to her book. Looking at what was written in it, she groaned frustratedly and slammed her pen down. Keith looked up, startled, before shooting her a concerned look. 

"You okay?"

Matt raised a brow from where he was looking down at Lance, eyeing Keith and Pidge from the side of his eye. Hunk managed to pull Lance up, Lance patting Hunk and thanking him before turning his attention toward the two in front of him. 

Pidge growled and ran a hand through her bangs, obviously frustrated. "No I'm not okay! I can't think of anything else to add to this stupid project!"

Keith frowned before leaning over, prying her hand away from the book. Matt and Lance gasped, putting their hands up to their chests in total shock before turning towards each other and speaking low, fast whispers. 

"Did he-"

"How dare-"

Keith placed her hand on the desk after prying it from the book, pulling the book closer to him and flipping through the pages with interest. Pidge sighed and eyed him warily. 

"Keith, what are you doing?"

"Yeah Keith, what are you doing?" Lance asked, waggling his brows suggestively while Matt just glared at Keith. Keith glared back, making Matt recoil in disgust and he placed a hand on his chest, feigning being hurt.

Keith then rolled his eyes before continuing to flip through the pages, skimming over the small notes she had written. He stopped on a page entitled 'weapons' and pointed at it, causing Pidge to lean over to inspect it. 

"What's this?"

"It's a page about weapons, Keith. But I can't think of what to put under it. I sort of gave up last night before going to sleep," she added sheepishly before catching Matt's scoff as he looked away from the group. She had most definitely given up, but not before she went to sleep. 

Keith hummed, Hunk peering over at the notes. He lowered a brow, taking the book out of Keith's grasp before holding it out in front of him to look at the page. Lance stopped sulking and edged closer to them, putting a hand up to his chin. 

"Pidge, I may not be an expert at weapons but a blank page is not a weapon."

"Words are the weapons," said Hunk from beside him and chuckled to himself. Lance sent him an unamused look and Matt snorted. 

"If Coran had heard you say that he would've teared up and patted you on the back before going; 'There have never been more truer words spoken, my dear boy.'' Matt grabbed and pretended to use his sisters hair as a mustache, holding it up to his nose. 

Pidge huffed indignantly before pulling her hair away from his nose, smacking him on the head harshly. Matt hissed at her, quickly taking her hand off his head and after patting it soothingly, he pointed an accusatory finger at her. 

"Woman you are trying to kill me!"

Pidge shrugged and Keith sent him a smug look.  "To be honest you deserve it," was all that he said before turning back to Hunk who still had the notebook in his hands. 

Lance made a face before grabbing the notebook from Hunk's hands, inspecting the blank pages before snapping his fingers and grinning. "What if they're like super weapons that we can activate when Voltron is fully assembled?"

Pidge's eyes widened and she grinned ecstatically, shooting him a huge smile. "Lance you're a genius!"

"Yup."

Keith raised a brow and looked down at the notebook which Pidge had snatched back from Hunk. She quickly grabbed her pen and wrote 'bayards' under the 'weapons', underlining it excessively. 

"What's up with all the underlining?"

"For emphasis, Keith. Duh. And what should our weapons be?"

"Let's give Lance a grappling hook like Mabel," said Keith as Pidge snorted. 

"It fits since he's the goofball."

The two gave each other a high five while Matt snorted in the background, waiting to see Lance's reaction. Lance's jaw dropped before he reacted and pointed at her accusingly. 

"Hey! I'm not a goofball! I'm like the cool ninja sharpshooter." He replied smugly, crossing his arms and closing his eyes as he turned away from them. 

Keith scoffed. "Are you joking?"

Matt looked at Hunk and smirked. "This conversation is rated PG: pretty gay, wouldn't you say so, Hunk?" Hunk put a hand up to his mouth as he tried to stifle his laughs, Lance pouting. 

"Hunk!" He whined, sending Hunk a betrayed look. Matt grinned and sent him finger guns, Lance sticking up the middle finger in return. 

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Fine, Lance can be the sharpshooter of the team. What else?"

Keith raised a hand. Pidge just raised a brow slowly, nodding at him. "Keith?"

Matt raised a questioning brow, turning his head around to whisper into Lance's ear. "He knows he can speak freely, right?"

Lance shrugged. "You know, it was really unclear."

Pidge threw a spare pencil at his head, promptly causing him to pout in her direction. She shrugged before turning towards Keith who looked so done with all of them and Matt sneered at him.

"Oops, looks like we angered princess bowl cut."

Lance burst out laughing, Hunk snorting in amusement and Matt just looked at Keith with a smug look. Lance couldn't breathe, his face growing redder by the minute as he kept wheezing and sputtering incoherent words. He kept slapping his knees, Hunk looking at him in concern and trying to help him breathe. Matt went from looking amused to concerned in a matter of seconds, looking at Lance with concern etched all over his features. 

"Is. Does-. Is he going to be okay?" He asked, leaning over to Pidge. She shrugged before wincing upon hearing him start to cough, Lance pounding on his chest rapidly. Keith turned around, a smug look on his face. 

"Karma is a bitch."

Pidge sighed and gave him an 'are you serious' look, causing Keith to drop his smug look. Matt also sent him an unamused look, quickly shaking his head and so did Hunk from his position next to Lance. 

Matt frowned. "Okay it was funny at first but is he seriously okay?"

Pidge shook her head, concern on her face. "He's okay but I don't think his lungs will be after this." She and Matt once again sent Keith accusatory looks, Keith sighing and getting up. Pidge stopped glaring at him and raised a questioning brow. "Where are you going?"

Keith jutted his thumb out in Shiro's direction, making his way towards him. "With Shiro. I think he needs reassurance that Lance isn't going to die."

"I'll live to be older than you, Keith!"

Pidge sent Keith a small smile. "But Lance is okay now, see? You can stay with us." 

Matt raised a brow at the uncertainty in her tone, Keith only shrugging. "I kind of just want to hang out with Shiro for a while. He said something about wanting to talk to me earlier today."

Pidge bit her bottom lip, brows scrunching up in confusion. "But he's been asking to talk to you to talk to him almost every day for the past two weeks during our time that's supposed to be passed building Voltron."

Keith sent her a small sympathetic smile. "Pidge, you know I'm dedicated to this project just as much as you are. I just want to spend my time with Shiro before he, you know, pops the question," he said, whispering the last three words. He smiled. "Besides; you're the true brains of Voltron," he added with a smile before turning around and heading towards Shiro.

Pidge stopped biting her lip, lowering her gaze to the ground before feeling Matt's hand on her shoulder. She glanced up to see his concerned expression, his brows furrowed. 

"Are you okay?"

Pidge frowned before taking a deep breath. She then turned around and sent him a small smile. "I'm fine. Just, some things on my mind."

Matt shook his head. "Ah, no. If something's bothering you, you should tell me."

Pidge sighed and slouched back into her chair, slightly pouting as she rolled her pencil back and forth on the desk half spirited. Lance raised a brow and then inched closer to her and leaned down, getting closer to her level. 

"Did Keith do something? If so can I kick his ass?"

Expecting her to hit him for asking if he could kick Keith's ass, he ducked down but the punch never came. Instead she just scoffed lightly and shrugged. 

"Do whatever you want, Lance."

Hunk frowned. "Okay, you definitely aren't okay. Did you two fight or something? Things have been like kind of weird between you and Keith ever since your mall trip with Lotor."

She scowled. "With Lotor and the girls," she corrected. But she knew Hunk was right, even if she didn't want to believe it. Ever since the mall trip two weeks ago, things had changed. After the talk that she and Keith had that Saturday night, Shiro began pulling him apart from the group a lot. Especially during their robotics club time. 

At first it didn't bother her so much, but then it became a more than once during the day thing. She was slowly growing increasingly more annoyed with the new development, even though she wouldn't tell him. She was also starting to get annoyed with Shiro, too. 

Shiro was a nice guy, he truly was, but sometimes he became too clingy of Keith and pulled him away from his friend group. It had happened before he had left for college, and it had ended with Matt having to tell him why Pidge wasn't talking to him the entire last month leading up to his and Shiro's graduation. 

Shiro had ultimately apologized, saying that he didn't realize how much it had affected her. She had accepted, and Keith had made it up to her by ultimately spending the entire afternoon in the pool with her and helping her family with their barbecue to celebrate Matt and Shiro's graduation. 

She supposed it was only natural for Shiro to want to spend time with Keith. After all, the guy was going to propose to Allura and lose all the freedom that he had left. But a part of her didn't understand, because it wasn't like Shiro was going away forever. He was still going to be there to mentor all of them for robotics club. 

Matt waved a hand in front of Pidge's face, causing her to snap out of her thoughts. "Hello? Mind telling us what's going on in that big brain of yours?"

Pidge blinked before pushing his hand away, leaning on her arms. "I just don't understand why Keith always gets pulled away by Shiro."

"You know, I wonder if it's maybe because they're brothers?" Lance said, shrugging when Pidge sent him a glare. "What? I'm just saying!"

Matt sent him an unimpressed look, Lance just smiling a shrugging once again. Matt sighed and turned back around to Pidge, pulling on a strand of hair while twiddling it through his fingers. 

"If you ask me, I would tell you that he's probably pulling Keith apart to talk to him about the wedding and Keith is naturally going to go to him because duh, Shiro's his older brother."

Pidge groaned before blinking and looking up at him with a confused look. "Wait, I thought you were going to be best man," she said while Matt shrugged and grinned. 

"I am. Keith put up a fit when he found out, which was really unexpected because he really hates suits," said Matt with a hand on his chin, looking perplexed as he remembered Keith throwing a fit. 

Lance smirked. "So Shiro likes you better than Keith? That's understandable because I too, like you better than Keith."

Hunk scoffed. "Yeah, that's why you crushed on him during eight grade."

Lance screeched and quickly covered Hunk's mouth with his palm, Hunk's smirk still very visible from behind the hand that covered his mouth. Matt's eyes widened when he heard the word 'eight grade,' quickly turning to look at his sister. She simply nodded and he opened his mouth before closing it at a loss for words. 

Pidge just snorted at his sudden realization, still twiddling the pen in her hand as she snuck some glances at Keith. Keith was just leaning against Shiro's desk, a smile on his face as Shiro spoke to him about something animatedly with exaggerated hand expressions. 

At one point Shiro made an explosion noise and Keith threw his head back laughing, the small dimple on his right check showing. Allura covered her mouth with her hand, giggling and putting her free hand on Shiro's shoulder. Pidge slightly smiled, mesmerized by Keith's cute smile and how happy he looked. 

Lance interrupted her by making an 'aww' noise, making kissy faces when Pidge turned around with a red face. She looked pissed, holding the pen in her hand with a steel grip while aggressively clicking the bottom. 

"I will stab you," was all that she managed to say through clenched teeth before lunging at him, Lance yelping in surprise as he tried to maneuver himself to hide behind Hunk. He closed his eyes, waiting for the sharp stab or Hunk's scream, but it never came. 

He slowly opened one eye and saw Matt holding onto Pidge's shirt with a bored expression, the girl hissing and trying to scratch him with her fingers. 

"Won't work, Pigeon. You've literally scratched me so much that I've grown immune to any pain that your nails could possibly inflict," he said while holding her back. Pidge scowled at him, struggling to get him to let go. 

"MATT LET ME AT HIM!" 

Matt shook his head. "I would, but this is school property. We'd have to pay for any damages and if you didn't know, I'm broke. Apparently someone used my credit card to buy a bunch of clothes," he said, a brow raised in confusion. He shrugged before looking back down at his sister, who was slowly calming down. 

Hunk twisted his neck around to face Lance, a disappointed look on his face. "I'm going to tell dad that you're bothering Pidge."

Lance's eyes widened before he gripped onto Hunk's shoulders tighter. "You wouldn't dare."

Hunk raised a brow before shrugging, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Dad!"

Shiro immediately looked up, brows shooting up in alarm. "What?"

Pidge stopped arguing with Matt and let her jaw drop, both of the Holt siblings bursting out laughing. Lance paled and Keith looked at Shiro with a judgement face. 

Hunk smiled. "Hope you're having a great day, space dad!"

Shiro sighed, pretending to be annoyed by Hunk calling him 'space dad' even though he truly secretly liked it. He smiled at Hunk. "Likewise, Hunk." He turned back to Allura, who was smiling like crazy with her phone out and Keith just sent her a secretive smile. 

Pidge stopped laughing and sat back down, but this time she was smiling. "Okay now that was gold. I still don't have any ideas what to put for bayards other than Lance's, though. Any ideas?"

Matt hummed as he looked at the gun that she had drawn for Lance. "Maybe Keith can get a sword since he's all sharp and he's literally had an obsession with any sharp weapon since we were kids." 

Pidge snorted. "That's true. Hunk gets a huge blaster because he's got some big guns." She said, eyeing his arms. Matt closed his eyes and nodded solemnly. 

"Amen."

Lance raised a brow. "What about Shiro? He's a confusing man."

Pidge nodded, deep in thought as ideas formed in her brain. She twiddled her pen in her fingers, the speed rapidly increasing. 

Matt put a hand up. "Totally unrelated but before Pidge forgets; are you guys going to come over for our annual Thanksgiving dinner next Thursday?"

Hunk perked up, smiling. "Of course me and my family are going to go. What about you, Lance?"

Lance snorted. "What am I, an animal? Of course I'm going to go to the Holt Thanksgiving dinner with my entire family Dios mío that's like, tradition." 

Matt grinned. "Good."

Pidge shrugged. "It'll be the same as last year, but we can chill in the three house instead of my room since it's a mess- shit!" The pen in her hands went flying in the air and her eyes widened as she saw where it was going to land. 

"Narti, watch out!"

A four girls looked up and Ezor immediately threw her arm up to catch it, making sure that the pen didn't hit Narti. Narti breathed a sigh of relief and sent Pidge a small wave, calling her over. Pidge smiled. 

"I'll be right back, guys." She ignored Lance's suspicious look as she headed over towards the girls, her mood immediately shifting from bored to happy. 

Ezor grinned when she saw Pidge stand by Zethrid, waving at her. "Hey Pidge! We could really use your help with checking over these plans of ours."

Pidge raised a brow. "Isn't Acxa supposed to check over your plans?"

Lotor sighed and shook his head, smiling. "She's running a bit late due to a doctors appointment. We would appreciate it if you could check over our plans though, since you are probably the smartest in this entire room." He smiled at her, Pidge returning the smile. 

"I'd be happy to check over your plans if you need me to. I need a break from my group anyways." She ignored Lance's betrayed gasp and stuck out her tongue at him, Ezor snickering from her place next to Zethrid. 

Pidge looked at the piece of paper that Lotor had in front of him, leaning on the desk as she adjusted her glasses. Lotor raised a brow after two minutes of silence. 

"Are the plans alright or do we have to change them?"

Pidge shook her head, grinning. "You're project actually sounds really cool! It's like Voltron but at the same time it's not, and it's just a really good idea! Who came up with it?"

Zethrid grinned before proudly pointing at herself. "I did." Ezor shot her an unimpressed look. 

"We both know that you're lying."

"Let me have this Ezor just, let me have it."

Pidge laughed. "Okay but seriously, who was it?"

Narti pointed at Lotor, who was looking at Pidge in amusement to wait her reaction. Pidge's eyes widened and she turned towards him, a hand still on the plans. 

"YOU did this?"

Lotor grinned. "Why is that so surprising? You should know that I have a talent in designing."

Pidge snorted, smiling teasingly at him. "If only you had enough talent in English."

Lotor gasped, pretending to be hurt. "You wound me! How dare you? I put so much work into those two paragraphs I sent!"

Pidge shrugged. "I'm a critic, Lotor."

Lotor shook his head, the amused smile returning to his features. Ezor rolled her eyes playfully, eyeing Lotor. 

"Save the flirting for the party, jeez!" She said playfully, Zethrid eyeing her with a raised a brow. 

Pidge furrowed her brows. "What party?"

Zethrid smirked. "Lotor's annual party the Friday after Thanksgiving is the best thing. So many high schoolers come and we just party all night."

Ezor grinned. "Yeah! And if you're lucky, you manage to snag the attention of some guy-"

"Or girl."

"-or girl. Thanks, Zethrid. The point is that you could get a date there and totally go out after the party," she said as she sent Pidge a secretive wink. 

Lotor chuckled. "The parties are always very wild, if I'm going to be honest. What do you say, Pidge? Would you honor us with your presence next Friday?"

Pidge bit her lip, mulling over the question. "I'd have to make sure my mom is okay with it. I think I should be able to go, but I have to double check. Also, would I have to wear any specific clothes? Or-"

Lotor put a finger up to her mouth. "Shh. You talk too much." Pidge looked at his finger before smiling sheepishly, shrugging. She pulled back, crossing her arms. 

"Sorry. I've just never been to somebody else's party other than my friends." She didn't notice the dirty look that Ezor sent Lotor, the two others frowning. 

Lotor shot her a smile. "It's quite alright. Why don't I send the girls over to help you with your outfit the day of the party, huh? That is, if you're allowed to go."

Pidge sent him a grateful smile. "Really? That'd be great." Lotor sent Ezor a pointed look, making her shrink in her seat before she sent Pidge a huge smile. 

"Yeah no problem! I'll even make sure Acxa helps, even if she just makes sarcastic comments about every outfit." Pidge didn't miss the look of affection in her eyes, prompting her to subtlety send the other girl a wink.

Ezor immediately reddened, teasingly sticking her tongue out at Pidge. Zethrid snorted and ran a hand through her hair. 

"This is so gay."

Lotor raised a brow. "None of us here are heterosexual, Zethrid." Narti nodded in agreement, Zethrid sending Lotor a bored look. 

"I didn't say we were. I was just pointing out the gay."

"Is anyone in this school straight?"

"Definitely not the musical theater kids," said Lotor as he slid a hand through his hair. Pidge laughed. 

"Are you in musical theater?" She asked, a hand on her hip as she now stood next to Ezor. Ezor immediately began playing with her hair, inviting Narti to touch it. 

"So soft, it rivals Lotor's." Narti immediately sat up, reaching over to touch Pidge's hair. She gasped when she felt it, running her hands through it. Pidge just raised a confused brow, mirroring Lotor. 

"Do they uh, do this to you too?" Pidge asked Lotor, glancing back to see Zethrid tentatively touch her hair. Lotor chuckled and nodded. 

"Always when we watch movies," was what he said in return. Pidge smiled, only wincing when  one of Ezor's fingers got stuck in a knot. Ezor smiled sheepishly, moving her head around to face Pidge. 

"Sorry about that. But hey, I can get them out for you if you want," she offered. Pidge shook her head. 

"That's okay. I usually take them out by myself or have Allura do it for me. I don't know how she manages all that hair."

Lotor chuckled. "It's nice hair, though. Oh, hi Acxa." He waved at her as she entered the room, the girl looking really awkward before seeing Pidge and Ezor. A grin grew on her face as she walked faster, moving Ezor's purse from a chair and sitting down on it. 

"Hi." 

Zethrid grinned. "Okay but Acxa, did you consider my great idea for our model?"

Acxa sighed and shook her head. "Zethrid, we can't have the model shoot actual miniature bombs that'll make things explode."

Zethrid frowned. "Why not? It'll make it more interesting!"

Ezor looked at her skeptically. "But we want to actually have a shot in the competition, Zethrid. If we did that we'd be automatically disqualified." Narti nodded in agreement, causing Zethrid to scowl and turn away. 

"This model has no purpose then."

Ezor sighed exasperatedly, Pidge just chuckling lightly as she watched their antics. It was sort of funny to her how the girls and her had become friends in such a short amount of time. She felt safe around them, as if she could trust them. She was growing to know them more and more, and she was so positive that these girls were the best girl squad that she would ever befriend. And possibly the only girl squad she'd ever befriend. 

"Pidge we need you!" 

Pidge raised a brow as she turned around, seeing Allura sitting where she was sitting moments before. She sighed before turning around to Lotor's group, sending them a small sympathetic smile. 

"Sorry, I have to go. I'll see you guys later- oh and Lotor."

"Yes?"

"Make sure to actually, you know, give me your stuff to check over it."

"My spelling is flawless, but alright." He gave her a thumbs up, Pidge rolling her eyes in amusement before waving at the group and walking off towards her own group. 

She motioned for Allura to stand up, Allura groaning but complying as she stood up. Lance snickered. 

"Maybe if you hadn't left you wouldn't have lost your seat, Pidge-Podge."

Pidge stuck her middle finger out at him before looking at the group. "So did you come up with a bayard for Shiro?"

Hunk hummed. "Well, we said that it could be a huge sword but that's the same as Keith. Plus, Keith said he wants to be the only one with a sword."

Pidge sent Keith a look. "Are you serious?"

Keith shrugged and moodily looked away. "I like swords."

Pidge narrowed her eyes suspiciously before turning around to face the group, ignoring Keith. "Okay, let's just leave Emo for Beebo over there."

"Hey!"

"ANYWAYS. So Hunk, what other ideas?"

"Basically all the weapons we already have."

Shiro popped up over Keith's shoulder,  raising a brow with an adorable pout on his face. Pidge frowned before shaking the feeling of jealousy unraveling in her stomach. "Shiro? Do you have something to say?"

"What if it's a mix of all the weapons? You know, the ultimate bayard since I am forming the head."

Lance snorted. "Do you mean; the ultimate bitch slap?"

Shiro grinned. "Yep."

Pidge shrugged. "I like the idea. What about you guys?"

The group all agreed, leaving Shiro to cheer. Keith burst out laughing, the others chuckling as they saw one of those rare moments where Shiro showed his childish side off. 

"Wait, did Shiro say 'I'll form the head?'' Asked Hunk, causing Matt to grin. 

"Fuck yeah he did."

Lance gasped and grinned. "Everyone after me! When I point at you, say your lions color!"

"Yellow!"

"Blue"

"Green!"

"Red."

"And I'll form the head," said Shiro while grinning proudly. Keith smiled and shook his head, Shiro ruffling his head. Keith made a noise of protestation, finally sighing and allowing himself to be pet by his older brother. 

Pidge bit her lip, turning around so the gang wouldn't see her look of jealousy and sadness. Slowly but surely, things were starting to slip out of her control and she didn't have any power to fix them. She didn't know how, but everything was just changing and she hated it. 

She just hoped that it didn't tear their friendship apart. That's what Matt hadn't understood, because that was her fear in telling Keith that she liked him. Maybe it was just better to keep quiet, knowing that it couldn't happen. 

Keith was better off with someone else that wasn't her. Maybe it was time to move on. With these thoughts in her head, she sighed and turned back to her friends with a smile on her face. They could never see her in pain because of a crush. They couldn't. 

But she missed how Lotor gazed at her as she hid her face, his smile a cruel one. Maybe Matt hadn't understood, but Lotor sure did. And boy oh boy was he going to have fun wooing Katie 'Pidge' Holt and tearing her apart from her friend who she cherished dearly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyyy sorry for the lack of an update last week guys. I started school last Thursday, which is when I usually update and I had to finish up a lot of summer homework. Also, I might not always be able to update weekly due to the homework that I get because it's simply too much sometimes, so I'm sorry if you don't see a weekly update. I also took time off because frankly, making chapters every week sort of fries my brain and I get stressed thinking of how to write a specific thing. So I ask that you please be patient with me and understand that I am human and that I do need some time off from writing at times. Anyways, thanks for reading this chapter and this long-ish authors note. Bye for now!
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr @camphalfgalra for more updates and feel free to just talk to me about Voltron!


	14. Break My Heart: Part One

When it came to holidays, Hunk was a huge fan of them. Especially the winter holidays. His friends and their families also loved the holidays, and it all had to do with the fact that they were all close and would come together to celebrate. 

It was fun to celebrate, but this year something was so off. 

Maybe it was just him being paranoid, but he could sense something brewing. And it wasn't a cup of coffee.

He sensed a fight coming, something big that would be explosive. But he couldn't quite put a finger on it; he just knew it was going to be soon. 

If Hunk was going to be honest, he wouldn't be surprised if Keith and Pidge had a falling out of sorts. They fought a lot, especially over Lotor, and while they managed to make up there was always something there. Now if he was being _completely_ honest? Well, he was just surprised that Pidge or Keith hadn't accidentally declared their love for the other during one of those fights. 

Jealousy was an ugly thing, he decided. 

Going back to the Thanksgiving dinner, Hunk could talk about it for hours. There was a lot of joy and jokes, plus some pranks. Oh, and truth or dare. One of the most memorable events was daring Pidge to get Shiro drunk and while it had taken a bit of coaxing, she managed to get him drunk by replacing his coffee with alcohol. 

Drunk Shiro wasn't what they had expected though, and now they all refused to let him get drunk because he was 'too sappy,' in Matt's words. 

Needless to say, holidays with all four families were the highlight of the entire year and in Hunk's opinion, totally worth the wait. This year would be different, though. He could feel it.

* * *

Hunk groaned as he eyed Lance and Keith from the corner of his eye, the two boys desperately trying to dip their finger in the cookie dough that he was using. Pidge sat at the table, watching the three in amusement while texting someone. 

Lance shoved Keith and the other boy scowled before shoving him against the floor. Hunk pretended to ignore their shenanigans as he took care of the pies before turning around when Pidge suddenly burst out laughing. 

When he turned around, he was a mix of confused, amused and annoyed. Keith was trying to dip a spoon into the remainder of the cookie though while the rest was mostly splattered on Lance and the wall. Well, mostly Lance. Pidge burst out in fresh peals of laughter upon seeing how Lance and Keith both froze like deer caught in the headlights when they realized that Hunk was judging them. 

"Seriously guys?"

Keith dropped the spoon in the sink, quickly standing up straight before clearing his throat. Lance tried to cover the dough on the wall with his body by moving in front of it, sending Hunk a sheepish smile. 

Hunk shook his head. "You guys realize that I've been watching you stick your fingers in the cookie dough for the past twenty minutes, right?"

Keith stopped forcing a smile and shrugged before grabbing both the bowl and spoon in his hand. "No point in hiding our intentions now."

Pidge snorted from her position at the table. "You guys are terrible at helping out in the kitchen."

Lance pouted and shot the smaller girl an accusatory look, crossing his arms carefully to avoid getting more cookie dough over him. "Says the one who hasn't even picked up any kitchen utensil the entire time we've been here."

Pidge rolled her eyes, turning her upper body around to face the dough covered boy. "Hey, you know how the kitchen gets when I cook. It gets messy."

"You don't know how to cook, Pidge."

"Hey! I know perfectly well how to cook!"

Keith raised a brow. "Offering people gum is not cooking, Pidge."

Pidge sent him the middle finger before turning her eyes back to her phone, snorting at the incoming message before quickly replying. Lance raised a brow, putting a finger up to his chin before inching closer towards her. 

Pidge saw him and rolled her eyes before getting up to cross the room, leaning against the refrigerator. Lance pouted and she grabbed a rag from off the counter and threw it at him, the rag landing on his face. 

"Clean yourself, you look like shit."

Keith snorted. "He always does."

Before a fight could break out, Hunk sighed and stood between the two boys. "Guys, I hate to be that one guy that ruins the fun but if you can't control yourself then you're not going to be allowed in here to try the actual finished product."

Keith lowered his head, crossing his arms and looking to the side. "It's not like I wanted any cookies anyways."

Pidge rolled her eyes, glancing up from her phone. "Keith, you act so broody and emo in school when you're really just a softie who is obsessed with eating anything Hunk makes."

Lance grinned. "Can you blame him for that though? Hunk's cooking is amazing!"

Hunk blushed, getting out another bowl of cookie dough that he had hidden from Lance and Keith. "Guys stop, you're going to make me blush!"

Pidge grinned at him teasingly, pointing a finger in his direction. "Looks like you're already blushing, Hunk."

Hunk smiled before placing the dough on the counter, smacking Lance's hand. The taller boy pouted, almost crossing his arms before Hunk stopped him with a spoon. "Don't do that, you're going to get your jacket more dirty. Remember that we have to go out in two hours, Lance."

Lance blinked before shrieking, making a beeline towards Hunk's bathroom. "Hunk buddy, I'm going to need to borrow your washing machine!"

"Go ahead, you know where everything is.'' Hearing a crash and a groan, the trio in the kitchen winced before hearing a faint 'I'm okay.' 

Keith shook his head, pulling a chair out from under the table next to Pidge and sitting down, looking at Hunk with a bored expression. "Do you think he might accidentally shrink his jacket?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," was the mumbled response that the girl next to him said with a bored tone. Hunk nodded, turning back towards the counter to continue baking. 

Keith shrugged. "I guess that's true. Oh, who are we visiting today anyways? Shouldn't we be helping your parents prepare the dinner, Pidge?"

Pidge snorted, looking up from her phone and raising a brow. "Thought you said I couldn't cook."

Keith gave an exasperated sigh, causing her to grin, obviously satisfied that her teasing had annoyed him. "Pidge, you know what I mean."

She smirked, finally putting her phone down and tilting her head to look at him. "Do I really know, though?"

"Hunk, help, she's being impossible!"

"Hey, I'm not getting involved in your lover squabbles."

"She's not-!"

"He's not-! Hunk, we're just really good friends alright?"

Hunk playfully rolled his eyes, not missing the way Keith looked away with an expression that equaled that of a kicked puppy. He pursed his lips, frowning before turning around to face the counter again. "Alright alright, I get it. Also, Pidge, what should I add on the cookies?"

She brightened up immediately, grinning wildly. "Peanuts," she replied eagerly. Lance burst out laughing from his place in the bathroom, causing Hunk to snort and try to stifle his laughter while Keith didn't even bother to hide the smirk that was on his features. 

"Peanuts, huh?"

Pidge shrugged, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms. "Peanuts are alright I guess, but if you really want to try the good side you should try cherries. Cherries and peanuts are two good things, in my opinion."

Hunk gaped at her, dropping the spoon that was in his hand while Lance just started laughing harder, slapping the top of the washing machine in the process. Keith tried to put a straight face on, shrugging. 

"That's true. Cherries and peanuts are good."

The two shrugged and looked at each other before Pidge started snickering. Keith bit his lip to maintain himself from smiling, the two failing as they looked at the other. They burst out laughing, holding onto their stomachs. Pidge actually fell on the floor, not caring as tears streamed down her face. 

Hunk raised a brow at the two, waving the spoon disapprovingly. "What would Shiro and Matt say if they were to see you saying this shit?"

"I'D SAY FUCK YEAH!"

"Matt please."

Pidge's laughter ceased, the girl getting up and smiling in amusement as she peeked around the kitchen corner into the living room. "I'd say Matt's pretty on board with cherries and peanuts being a good mix."

"Not just any mix, Pigeon, but a healthy mix."

"CHEX-MIX?"

Keith, who by now had stopped laughing, spit out the water that he had been drinking and pounded on his chest with his fist, coughing while laughing like a maniac. Lance came out from the bathroom, his jacket missing while he eyed Keith. 

"Is be okay?"

Pidge shrugged, patting Keith on the back to try and get him to stop coughing. "He laughed at Shiro screaming 'CHEX-MIX' when Matt said that peanuts and cherries are a good, healthy combination."

Lance snickered, crossing his arms and looking at Keith with amusement. "Mullet here is never going to let Shiro live that down. It's going to be legendary at the wedding."

Pidge snickered, sending Lance a smirk. "I can see it now; Keith giving the speech even though Shiro chose Matt to be best man. 'My brother is a fucking meme that somehow managed to snatch Allura. He snatched her up like he snatched my weave when he screamed 'CHEX-MIX' in regards to peanuts and cherries. How the fuck he did it, no one knows but he did. Did I mention that he always cracks gay jokes too even if he's getting married to Allura?"

Keith snorted, trying to tame his laughter. "Pidge that doesn't even sound like me!"

She smirked, crossing her arms in the process. "But it's what you would say, Keith. And Hunk back to your original question-"

"Yeah?"

"Peanut butter flavored cookies are Mrs. Marilyn's favorite last time I checked."

Hunk raised a brow, leaning against the counter as he stared at her. "Is she the one that got you so into peanut butter cookies?"

Pidge grinned fondly. "Yup. She tried to give us peanuts at one point, but they're so dry and nasty if I'm going to be honest. But give me peanut butter or peanut butter cookies and I'll love you forever."

Matt snickered as he walked into the room, shoving Keith in the ribs while his sister wasn't looking. "Give her cookies, Keith."

"What the fuck, Matt."

"She'll love you forever," he cooed while batting his eyelashes flirtatiously. 

Keith jutted his lip out, his mouth in a slight pout as he glared at Matt before turning around and walking closer to Hunk. Hunk shook his head in Matt's general direction before patting Keith on the shoulder. 

Shiro walked into the room, a confused look on his face. "I heard I was a meme? Isn't that Matt?"

Pidge snorted, shoving Lance in the shoulder upon seeing him trying to put more cookie dough in his mouth. "That's true, but you are a meme too."

"Have you heard of the conspiracy theory that every human is a meme?" Keith asked, leaning on the counter while eyeing Pidge. The shorter girl sent him a confused look, one eye squinted in confusion. 

"I think I'd remember that theory. Was it posted this week? I haven't kept up with the blog since school has been kicking my ass."

Keith snorted, popping a Hershey Kiss that Hunk had in a bowl- dark chocolate, bless him- before shrugging casually. "Nope."

"Then where'd you hear it?"

"I didn't. I made it up because let's face it, everyone has meme hidden deep inside of them."

"Got me there."

Matt coughed awkwardly, causing Pidge to send him the middle finger. "Pidge, don't be so rude. Also, shouldn't we be, you know, getting ready to visit her instead of arguing over whose a meme and who isn't?"

Shiro blinked, turning his head to face Matt. "That's sounded uncharacteristically mature for you, Matt."

Pidge snorted, placing her phone in her pocket while grabbing a bunch of chocolate chips and placing them in the cookie dough. "No, it's just Matt being annoyed that I told him to fuck off," she said nonchalantly over her shoulder while popping one of her chocolate chips into her mouth. 

Hunk gasped, rushing towards the cookie dough bowl and taking it away from her. "Maybe you shouldn't be adding all those chocolate chips, you know what I mean? Everything has an order."

Keith reached around him, grabbing a handful of the dark chocolate before grinning and leaning against the counter. "Need this." He popped the chocolate bits in his mouth, causing Hunk to gasp indignantly and take the cookie dough in his own hands. 

"Nome of you are getting any cookies now. Get out of my kitchen!" He waved the broom that had been leaning on the wall and shooed them out of the kitchen with it, Keith pouting and Lance shrugging before heading back into the bathroom. 

The gang -minus Hunk- ended up passing the time in the living room of Hunk's house play monopoly, Allura joining them later around the time they had to leave. The game didn't end so well though. Lance had eventually flipped the board over, claiming that both Keith and Pidge were cheating while Shiro shook his head and Matt looked in horror at the board due to the fact that he had been thrown in jail for the eight time since starting the game. 

They put on their jackets and headed off to the apartment where Mrs. Marilyn resided in, bickering the entire way with jokes being thrown around. Hunk felt so happy; the earlier feeling of unease starting to detach itself from him. But for the good of everyone in this group, he was going to keep his eyes wide open. There would be no fighting during this Thanksgiving on his watch.  
\-----------------------------------------------------  
Pidge glanced around as they were led around the apartment by the secretary who had been at the front desk, the eagerness in her stomach growing as they neared the room where Mrs. Marilyn resided. 

"And here is Mrs. Marilyn's room. I'll leave you all with her; she's been quite excited to see you-"

"ANITA? IS THAT YOU?"

The secretary, Anita, sighed and put a hand on her hip. "Yes it's me, Mrs. Marilyn."

The door flung open and there stood Mrs. Marilyn in her five foot glory, her white hair frazzled and her blue eyes crinkling at the corners when she smiled upon seeing Pidge and Matt. 

"Katie! Matthew! Come over here!"

Pidge grinned before shoving the present she had gotten for the old woman into Keith's awaiting arms, quickly joining Matt as he leaned in to hug the shorter woman. She missed the fond look on Keith's face as she hugged Mrs. Marilyn, a soft smile on his face as he looked at her. 

Eventually, Mrs. Marilyn let the two go before holding both their hands in her palm. "You two have grown up so much."

"I can't the same for you," was the first thing that came out of Matt's mouth before his sister shoved him in the ribs. 

"Matt!" She hissed, ignoring the snickers of amusement from behind her plus two long sighs of annoyance. She heard a small 'Patience yields focus' before all her embarrassment on her brothers behalf faded as Mrs. Marilyn let out a laugh. 

"Well, I can't say that I grew over time but at least I'm not a skinny ant compared to my friends," was her reply with a smirk on her lips. Matt gasped, putting a hand up to his heart while Pidge burst out laughing along with the others behind her. 

Mrs. Marilyn chuckled, a twinkle in her eye as she eyed the others up and down. "And who are these handsome gentlemen and very beautiful lady? Oh Katie, you have a harem now?"

Pidge snorted, rolling her eyes in find amusement before motioning at the group. "I'm good without a harem, Mrs. Marilyn. These dorks behind me are known as Allura the queen, Lance the sharpshooter-"

"Aw yeah!"

She sent him an unamused look. "Don't get too comfy, I can change it whenever I want. Anyways, next to Lance is my good friend Hunk the sunshine ray, and next to them are the two who moved in after you left."

Mrs. Marilyn eyes the two up and down, a smile on her face. "These are two very fine looking men here, Katie! If you aren't dating one of them then what are you doing with your life?"

Pidge choked on her spit, coughing as Lance patted her back. She finally controlled her cough, a light blush dusting her face as she looked up at the woman in front of her. 

"It's not like that! Besides, Shiro is engaged to Allura," she said while sending the two mentioned a crooked smile. Shiro smiled while bashfully putting his prosthetic up to his neck, sticking his left arm out to shake hands with Mrs. Marilyn. 

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Marilyn. Pidge and Matt speak highly of you and seeing you now explains why they do." He shook her hand, causing Mrs. Marilyn to chuckle. 

"Such a polite young man. You're engaged to Allura, Katie mentioned?"

Shiro blushed before shyly looking at Allura, who was beaming with a light blush on her face. Mrs. Marilyn laughed heartily, smiling at the two. "I'll take as a yes. Oh, where are my manners? Come in, come in!"

They walked inside with Matt holding one of Mrs. Marilyn's hands as she laughed. 

"Matthew dear, I'm quite alright walking by myself I'll have you know. I'm strong for a seventy year old."

Matt gave her a crooked smile, helping her sit down on her cushioned chair before letting go. "I know, but I have to practice being a gentleman around someone that isn't my sister according to my mom."

She chuckled, watching everyone settle down. "How is Colleen, by the way? I haven't talked to her since last week."

Pidge shrugged, sitting on the couch next to Keith. "Mom's okay. She says hi, by the way. She misses your cooking tips."

Mrs. Marilyn raised a brow, putting a finger up to her chin. "I'll have to send her some of my recipes home with you today, then."

Pidge smiled. "Sounds good. How have you been?"

"Old and dying, dear."

Pidge blinked before Keith snorted from next to her. 

"Mood."

Matt and Shiro sent Keith an unimpressed look, causing Keith to just shrug. "What? Look me straight in the eyes and tell me that you haven't thought of growing old and dying."

"I can't look at you straight in the eye because it's against my sexuality."

Allura sent Matt an 'are you serious' look, Pidge and Hunk doing the same while Shiro snorted from his place next to Allura. 

"It's homophobic, Keith."

"Shiro's right; it's homophobic because I'm bi and don't like it."

Keith's scowled, leaning back with his crossed arms. Pidge rolled her eyes, obviously done  
with Matt's antics feat Shiro's playful addition. 

"You were supposed to say, 'I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory,' Matt. This is Keith we're talking about. Don't be so insensitive."

Keith sent her one of the most adoring looks, shooting his arms up and exclaiming, "Yes! Exactly! Thank you, Pidge!"

She smirked as she fist bumped him, the others painfully shaking their heads while Mrs. Marilyn got a playful twinkle in her eyes as she she looked at the two over the rim of her cup of tea.

"So I know Shiro and Allura are dating, but what about the rest of you? You're all a nice looking group of friends; you must have a significant other."

Matt shrugged. "I mean, we're all single and ready to mingle. Shiro is the only one who's had maybe two girlfriends in his life, and Allura is the second one. They've been together since high school."

"What about you, Matthew? Anyone catch your eye?"

Matt blinked before giving her a small smile. "Way out of my league at this point. But! Totally not changing the subject here, but why don't you ask my darling sister the Pigeon how her love life is going? It's _interesting_ ," he said while sending her a knowing, smug look. 

Pidge groaned and buried her head into Keith's shoulder, the boy just stiffening and awkwardly patting her head while trying to conceal the blush on his face. Hunk face palmed while Lance shook his head eyeing the two oblivious children. 

Mrs. Marilyn raised a teasing brow. "Is that so? Well Katie, how is your love life going?"

"Horribly."

Matt snickered. "She's just upset that the guy she likes is clueless as fuck and won't like her back."

Pidge shot her head up and crossed her arms. "Hey!"

"It's true," he said while eyeing her and giving her a pointed look. Pidge pursed her lips before stretching her legs out in front of her, slouching on the couch. 

"Whatever Matt."

Mrs. Marilyn eyed her, watching how she snuck a glance at Keith who was looking to the side. An idea popped into her mind and she coughed, clearing her throat and smiling at the group in front of her. 

"I believe you introduced me to everyone, but who's this handsome young boy next to you, Katie?"

Pidge's eyes widened and she smiled, turning around to face Keith. Keith just sat there looking bored with a raised brow, a confused look plastered all over his face. 

"Who's she talking about?"

Pidge snorted. "You, Keith. His name is Keith and he acts all tough but he's a softie inside who likes to blast Hamilton all night long."

Mrs. Marilyn watched her in amusement as she blubbered about Keith, only putting up a hand when she became confused. "Katie dear, I love how passionately you talk about this young man but I have a small, quick question."

Pidge raised a brow, sitting up straight as a board, her body in a tense position. Keith noticed this and frowned, shooting her a confused questioning look. She smiled and nodded, trying to relax but failing miserably. 

_Please don't let her ask about me and Keith please my heart won't be able to take it._ She took a deep breath before answering Mrs. Marilyn. "What's your question?"

Mrs. Marilyn put a hand up to her chin. "I understood the part that your friend here is broody and macho on the outside but secretly a soft person inside-"

"Right..."

"-but I don't get the part of Hamilton. What's Hamilton? Are you referring to Alexander Hamilton? I know my niece Karina mentioned something about it but I don't remember. Can you explain it to me?" Upon seeing how Keith brightened up and how Pidge looked relieved, she knew she had made the right question. 

Keith brightened up, sitting up straighter while Shiro groaned from next to Keith. Keith rolled his eyes at Shiro, deciding to ignore him and explain. 

"Hamilton is my entire reason to live. It's about the life of Alexander Hamilton and how he made a big name for himself and changed the world but, get this, it's through rap and dancing on stage. It's so amazing but ridiculously expensive to see live. The soundtrack is my reason for living."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "You said that at the beginning, Keith. A small part of me agrees but I like Heathers better."

"That's because your girl group is literally the Heathers," muttered Keith under his breath. Pidge's eyes widened before she groaned and crossed her arms. 

"This again? Keith, we talked about this. The girls aren't going to hurt me."

Keith shrugged, pointedly turning away from her. Mrs. Marilyn frowned, looking to Matt for an explanation and was surprised to see him eyeing the pair with with a bored expression. 

"You guys have this fight every two hours, can we move on?" Asked Matt while still looking at the duo with an exasperated bored expression. Pidge and Keith both glared at him before glaring at each other and turning away from te other. 

Shiro coughed before smiling apologetically at Mrs. Marilyn. "Sorry about them, they're just really confusing kids."

"I'm 17!"

"Keith you might as well be a baby compared to Shiro. You're like the size of a peanut," drawled out Matt while getting up to get more tea for the woman next to him. 

"You're an actual peanut. Your hair color even matches the shade of said peanut," said Keith with a bored tone. Pidge snorted from her place next to him, risking a peek at him and upon seeing him already looking at her she raised her hand and gave him a high five, to which he gladly returned. 

The two smirked at each other before settling back down, Pidge slouching lazily against Keith  while Keith sent her a small smile. 

"You're heavy for a peanut."

"I'M NOT A PEANUT HOLY SHIT THAT'S MATT!"

Mrs. Marilyn raised a brow, watching the group laughing while Matt pouted from his place in the kitchen. She gasped when she felt a tap on her shoulder, watching Lance smirk and raise a brow while leaning in closer to her. 

"Freaky stuff, right?"

"Please tell me they're dating."

"No they're in the friend zoning stage and denial stage."

"That's a tragedy."

"It's been a tragedy for years, ma'am."

"They need a push."

"A huge one."

She hummed in agreement, sending Lance a small smile before coughing and clapping her hands together, which caught everyone's attention. 

"Well, Hamilton certainly sounds like an interesting thing! Also Katie! No profanities in my good household," she scolded teasingly which caused the shorter girl to pout. 

"But I like cursing!"

Allura nodded in agreement. "It's true, she does have a bit of a potty mouth in my opinion. But then again, who doesn't like to say 'bitch' every time they see someone."

Shiro raised a brow, looking at his girlfriend with a confused yet amused look. She just shrugged, leaning in and whispering, "You don't have to contribute if you don't want to but we're curse goddesses."

Shiro smiled in amusement before shaking his head and leaning back on the couch, getting comfortable despite the fact that Keith was digging his elbow into his ribs. 

Mrs. Marilyn smiled. "I know you like cursing, Katie. You're much like your father while Matthew is more like your mother. Am I correct or not?"

Pidge snorted and nodded. "Matt here inherited his fear of raccoons from our mom while I inherited the brains of my dad."

Matt rolled his eyes, handing Mrs. Marilyn a new cup of tea. "Yeah yeah laugh it up. In the end I'm the one who can actually cook and dad loves my peas."

Keith smirked. "Pidge, he's got you there."

Eyeing him, she smirked and shoved him lightly in the arm with her elbow. "Shut up," she said with a hidden fondness and happiness. 

Hunk and Lance exchanged glances, acknowledging that their best friends were idiots that would pine until the end of days. 

"They're going to be pining when I get married," mussed Hunk as he watched the two resolve into fits of laughter when Keith said something under his breath that had made Matt fall off his seat, the boy scowling indignantly at the duo. 

Mrs. Marilyn brought her cup of tea to her mouth, making a 'tsk' sound. "It's such a _shame_ that no one will give them a little _push_ ," she said while looking mischievously at how Keith and Pidge were practically sitting on each other. 

She quickly glanced at Lance and Hunk to see if they had caught on, taking a sip when seeing the two grinning madly at each other with Lance rubbing his hands together and casually sliding closer to the old woman. 

"I may or may not have something planned for this Saturday that might just be that push," he said while grinning and looking at his fingernails. 

Hunk also inched closer to Lance, shaking his head. "I normally wouldn't agree but it's been going on for too long and we need some action," he said while stealing a glance at Keith and Pidge while the two were talking to Allura and Shiro in a heated discussion. 

Mrs. Marilyn took a sip of her tea, the crinkles around her eyes showing as she smiled while taking said sip. "Good to hear."

"What plans?" 

The three jumped with Lance and Hunk sending Matt accusing looks. Lance clutched his heart, glaring accusingly at Matt while Hunk hid behind Lance before peaking around and also glaring at Matt. 

Matt shrugged. "I want to know what plans you have, yeesh. Don't act so surprised, guys. It's obvious that I'm going to want to know what you're planning in regards to my sister and Emo."

Lance raised a brow before motioning for Matt to come closer, the older boy inching closer with a huge anticipation.  Leaning in, Lance grinned and whispered; "Your sister is going to be locked in a closet with Keith during our Seven Minutes in Heaven game later today after dinner."

Matt gasped, leaning back while putting a hand to his heart and grinning devilishly. He and Lance both exchanged looks and grinned evilly, rubbing their hands together as they thought of the plan while Hunk looked at them with concern. 

"I think that's a _wonderful_ plan," egged on Mrs. Marilyn while watching Matt and Lance grin evilly at each other while Hunk slid a hand over his face. 

Hunk groaned, covering his hand with his face. "I really hate doing this to Keith and Pidge, but if that's what it takes for them to finally get together then..."

Lance slapped Hunk on the back, grinning. "That's the spirit!"

Pidge raised a brow, turning her attention away from Allura and Shiro. "What's the spirit?"

Lance awkwardly grinned, hand stuck midair as he raised it off of Hunk's back. Matt blinked before coughing and sending her a charming grin, waggling his brows. 

"The Thanksgiving spirit, Pigeon."

Pidge gagged, sticking her tongue out to emphasize how much she hated what he had just said. Keith rolled his eyes. 

"That's one of the worst things I've ever heard."

Matt crossed his arms, glaring at Keith. "You're the worst thing that has existed."

"Can't think of anything more original than that, Mattstergamer?" Asked Keith while playfully glaring at Matt with a smirk playing at his lips. 

Shiro immediately burst out laughing like Pidge did, the two doubling over and clutching their stomachs while Allura tried to stifle her giggles into her palm while Hunk and Lance looked at each other in confusion. 

"What's this that I'm hearing about a Mattstergamer?" Asked Mrs. Marilyn while raising a brow. 

Pidge grinned gleefully, ignoring Matt's look of horror as he realized that his sister was about to expose him. 

"Matt had a phase during the eight grade where he tried to play Minecraft and uploaded it onto YouTube. His name was Mattstergamer and he was a flop with one follower which was Shiro, who only followed him out of sympathy."

Matt groaned, lowering his face into his hands as Shiro patted him on the back. 

"You tried, buddy."

Matt groaned louder, ignoring Pidge's gleeful look as he stuck up his middle finger in her direction. 

Lance grinned. "Dude, even my sister has more success than that and she's younger than you."

"She's fourteen, Lance. I was thirteen."

"I didn't see you having any internet fame at fourteen either."

Matt pouted and turned away from Lance, mumbling something about 'annoying being an inherited family trait' as Lance grinned. 

Hunk blinked, watching all of them exchange glances between Matt and each other. Deciding to be the peace keeper once again, he politely coughed and smiled at Mrs. Marilyn. 

"It's really nice to meet you, ma'am. We brought you some treats, except I think we left them in the car," he said while shyly rubbing his neck with his right hand. 

Mrs. Marilyn smiled and patted his arm. "No worries, dear. You should go get them now though before they get cold since you must've baked them before you came."

Hunk smiled, bashfully looking to the side. "Is it that obvious that I bake?"

Mrs. Marilyn let out a laugh, clapping her hands together. "Dear, I can tell a lot about a person by looking at them."

Lance snickered. "That's probably where Pidge learned how to read people. She does it so accurately that it's scary."

Pidge grinned. "I'm proud of that. If I can read people, than I know who I'll date and who I won't."

Keith raised a brow. "So you won't date Lotor?" He asked with a hopeful edge in his voice. Pidge frowned, furrowing a brow. 

"I don't think I'll end up dating Lotor but if I did I don't see a problem with it. Although I don't think it would really last."

Keith frowned. "Why get into a relationship if you're going to ditch the person a while later? It's so stupid."

Pidge shrugged. "Ask the freshmen, they'll have so many tales of their dating lives with a person for a minute."

Matt grinned. "You haven't even had a dating life, you've just had a pining life."

Pidge glared at him while Keith snickered, only stopping when Hunk eyed him. 

"Keith buddy you've literally been in the same position ever since you were ten."

"Betrayed once again by my best friend."

Pidge snorted. "Keith if you like a person just tell them."

"Ah yes, that's why you've told your person you like them."

"I have never hated you so much."

Keith blew her a fake kiss, causing the girl to stick a middle finger up. Hunk face palmed, causing Shiro to chuckle while Allura shot him a sympathetic smile. 

Finally looking up, he sighed and got up while heading towards the door. Pidge and Keith stopped sending each other playful death glares to give Hunk identical confused looks. 

"Where are you going?"

Hunk sighed again. "I'm getting the cookies from the car because I need something sweet to cheer me up from this depression that you are causing me."

Keith and Pidge exchanged glances, looking towards Shiro and Allura for help. The two just coughed and stood up, also heading towards the door. 

"We uh, also left our gifts in the car! Yes! Lance, come along now!"

"Why me? I brought my-"

Upon catching Allura's steely 'if you don't follow me right now I swear that you will not live to see tomorrow' as she looked between him and Mrs. Marilyn, he finally understood and he made an 'ooh' noise with his mouth. 

"Ooh yeah! I totally forgot my gift in the car!"  
Standing up, he smiled at Mrs. Marilyn. "We'll be right back, ma'am. Don't miss us too much," he said as he winked at her while Allura practically dragged him out of the apartment. 

Matt shrugged, getting up like everyone else. "I need to pee," was all he stated before walking into the bathroom. 

Pidge sighed, running a hand through her hair. "He's going to spend an hour on the toilet scrolling through Tumblr or Instagram."

Keith smirked. "I guess it's a hereditary trait," he said while crossing his left leg over his right. Pidge stuck her tongue out at him before getting up and stretching. 

"I'm going to go with them because someone's going to need to press the elevator buttons when they're done getting everything."

She walked towards the door, Keith immediately getting up to to follow after her. He was stopped by a polite cough, turning around to see Mrs. Marilyn taking a sip of her tea. 

She put it down, smiling at Keith. "Katie, dear, I would like to have a moment with your friend Keith here. Mind closing the door once you're out?"

Pidge blinked, stopping in her tracks as she looked between Keith and Mrs. Marilyn. Slowly, she started walking out the door. "Oh...kay." Sending Keith one final glance, she shut the door and walked down the hall with the rest of the gang- well, all of them minus Matt. 

Keith looked around awkwardly before stiffly walking towards the couch, sitting in his seat while pointedly looking away from Mrs. Marilyn. It went on for about two minutes before she cut the tense atmosphere. 

"So how about Katie, huh?"

Keith blinked, looking up at her in confusion. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, 'so how about Katie,'' she asked while calmly folding her hands over her lap, this action making Keith twitch in his seat a little. 

"She's uh, a cool person. She's smart and funny."

Mrs. Marilyn chuckled. "There must be more to Katie than you're letting out, Keith. She isn't the type of person that can be described through a sentence."

Keith sighed, shrugging before sitting up. "You're right. Pidge is this, amazing girl who I hated ever since the beginning because she was so annoying. I don't hate her now, but it took time for us to become as close as we are now. Her personality is wild because she's not a quiet person; she's the opposite. She's outspoken and gets right to the point, and I think that's why we get along so well. She's amazing, and she's the best friend a guy could have."

A fond smile fell over his features as he thought about her, the memories of their moments spent together flashing vividly through his head. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he glanced up to face Mrs. Marilyn. He was met by a huge smirk on the old woman's face. His heartbeat started to quicken a little, knowing exactly what was coming. 

"But it's not like I like her or anything!" He added quickly, tensing up as the smirk only grew. 

"Keith. I may be old, but I'm pretty sure I'm not blind. You obviously have some sort of affection for Katie."

Slumping down in his seat, Keith groaned defeatedly while running a hand over his face. "I'm so sorry you had to hear me say all that."

Mrs. Marilyn sent him a comforting smile. "Don't be so down, Keith, and don't you dare apologize. It's good to let your feelings out, and I'm glad that you've done so right now. But you are making it a little too obvious that you like Katie."

Keith groaned again, louder this time as he sunk lower into his seat. "Please take me now," he mumbled. 

Mrs. Marilyn rolled her blue eyes playfully. "Don't be so over dramatic, Keith. It's nothing to he's ashamed of. In fact, I have some tips for you on how to get into Katie's heart." _Even if she already is in love with you,_ she mussed. 

Keith's eyes widened. "Really?"

Mrs. Marilyn's heart melted a little at the sight. Never had she seen anyone so desperate for tips on how to ask a person out, and now she was going to give him tips on how to ask the girl of his dreams out. The only request she planned to have was to be invited to the wedding whenever it would be. 

She nodded. "Now, these are top secret but I'm willing to share with you. Take notes. Number one; give her peanut butter cookies everyday. Those are her favorite."

Keith snorted. "That's obvious." He winced when Mrs. Marilyn hit him lightly on the head with her cane, pursing her lips. 

"Quiet you, let me speak! Okay, number two: When she wants space, give it to her and don't be clingy. Respect her and her decisions because a happy girl means a happy life."

Keith nodded. "I mean, we both give each other space when we need it."

Mrs. Marilyn nodded. "Yes, that's good. Third: Treat her with respect and as your equal because she is smart and is not afraid to let you know. Remember that because a girl wants to be respected and treated as an equal and not as some delicate doll."

Keith nodded again, absorbing everything she was saying like it was water and he was the sponge. "Is there anything else?"

Mrs. Marilyn nodded. "This one is the most important one. Come here." She waved her hand, beckoning him closer. Keith obliged, standing in front of her. 

"Yes?"

"The final and most important rule of them all is..."

"Is what?"

Mrs. Marilyn frowned and hit Keith repeatedly on the head with her cane. "THE FINAL STEP IS FOR YOU TO ACTUALLY ASK HER OUT TO THE CINEMA OR A NICE RESTAURANT SO THAT YOU CAN DO ALL THESE THINGS AND NOT PINE YOUR ASS OFF OVER HER. Pardon my French," she said calmly after her little outburst. 

Keith winced, rubbing his head as he eyes the woman from the corner of his eyes. "Why."

"Because you need to get it through your thick skull that you have to actually ask her out instead of just staring from afar. She's not an animal; she won't bite. Well, scratch that. She might bite. Any who, you need to ask her out before this Lotor does because it seems like she's getting really close to him by the way she talked about him. Also, please tell me this isn't the son of that heinous of a man called Zarkon."

"The one and only," replied Keith drily. They both shook their heads and shuddered. 

"Keith, you must tell her how you feel because I would rather you date her than that son of a no good Lotor. Please tell me you'll confess before I die."

Keith raised a brow. "I...can't promise you that?"

"PROMISE ME, KEITH!"

"Okay okay fine! I promise I'll tell Pidge how I feel before you die."

She smiled, obviously satisfied with his answer. "I'm finally satisfied. Now shush, they're coming back upstairs." She sat back and continued sipping her tea like nothing had happened. 

Keith eyed her suspiciously while still rubbing his head, inching back towards his seat before he heard rapid tapping at the door. Standing up, he walked towards it and hesitantly opened it before Allura fully kicked it open and knocked Keith in the process. 

Gasping, she looked down at Keith with sympathy. "Oh my, I'm so sorry Keith!"

Keith winced, rubbing his ribs. "First it's my head and now it's my ribs. What else is going to get hurt next?"

Pidge scoffed, raising a brow as she entered the apartment behind Shiro with a box of cookies in her hands. "You hurt yourself daily by just practicing hitting the dead center of the tree in your backyard, Keith. This pain should be nothing."

"I think my spleen is broken. You're paying the medical bills, Allura. If you're living under our house you aren't allowed to abuse me," he added while playfully glaring at the older woman. Allura sighed exasperatedly before putting down the box and helping him up. 

"Good thing I'm living under Shiro's roof and not yours. That would be horrifying," she lamented. 

Keith sighed. "You're stealing my brother away from me so much Allura; let me have this."

Pidge frowned, pursing her lips. "You can still FaceTime him; you know that right?"

"I can't when Shiro has a fucking Nokia for a phone," said Keith submissively as Pidge burst out in a fit of laughter, Matt howling with laughter in the bathroom. 

"SHE GOT YOU GOOD, SHIRO!"

 

Shiro shook his head. "I had a Nokia when I was ten, Keith."

Keith narrowed his eyes. "With how you avoid phone calls it wouldn't make a difference. You could disappear and we wouldn't know because you never answer your damn calls."

Pidge snickered, walking towards Mrs. Marilyn with the box of peanut butter cookies while Hunk rummaged through the kitchen for a plate to place the cookies on. "Maybe you should be Shiro next year for Halloween and not show up because he's always going MIA."

Keith snorted. "That's a great idea. I mean, how hard could it be to be Shiro? Just look!" He sat down on the couch, crossing his legs while sitting straight up. Lowering his voice an octave, he cleared his throat and put a serious face on. 

"Look, I'm Shiro!" He held up his hands in front of him in a driving motion, ignoring Shiro shaking his head. 

"Piloting the black lion!"

He proceeded to stand up stiffly and patted Lance on his shoulder while closing his eyes. "Giving you good dad advice!"

He then hid behind the couch, crouching down so no one could see him. "Disappearing!" He then popped up, waving his arms wildly around. "It's easy!"

Pidge cackled, looking at him with fond amusement. "You've got Shiro pegged down, Keith."

Lance grinned. "Shiro had disappeared two times this month for an entire day and then it turns out that he was just on a date with Allura or hiding out with Matt."

Matt came out of the bathroom, sliding casually next to Lance. "Yeah, can't blame him though. Allura and I are pretty damn amazing if I do say so myself." A glint of mischief could clearly be seen in his eyes as he looked at Lance, the taller boy getting a clue and grinning. 

"Sure Matt, sure."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Hunk, you're an honest guy right?"

Hunk walked out of the kitchen and placed the plate of cookies on the living room table, sitting down in his seat after doing so. "I think so?"

Pidge smirked. "Excellent. So if I had to ask you who was more amazing, would you say it's Matt or Allura?"

Hunk sent Matt a sympathetic smile. "Sorry Matt, but Allura has my vote. After all, how many girls can flip their boyfriend over and carry them for a minute or more?"

Matt shook his head. "Allura is an alien confirmed," he said while eyeing her. Allura just shrugged. 

"It's not my fault that I'm a badass and that you aren't."

Pidge hooted with laughter, interrupted by Mrs. Marilyn who was eyeing them with a smug look. 

"Not to brag, but I used to be able to beat every person who was about ten or more times my weight when I was Allura's age too. Guess we're both badass women," she said while chuckling in amusement. 

Allura grinned. "I think that you and I will get along just fine, Mrs. Marilyn." 

Mrs. Marilyn nodded, motioning for all of them to sit down. "Sit down, sit down! It's only two in the afternoon; you have plenty of time to spend here! I'm not expecting any visitors today anyways."

Matt raised a brow. "Don't your daughters come pick you up every Thanksgiving around six like they used to do back when you lived next door?"

Mrs. Marilyn snapped her fingers. "Gosh darn it; you're absolutely correct Matt! Oh well. And I assume that your mother is organizing the Thanksgiving feast at this moment."

Pidge shuddered. "Yeah. I'm not a big fan of staying in one room chopping up vegetables and cracking open chicken bodies and stuffing them. I'd rather be out."

Mrs. Marilyn chuckled. "You remind me of my niece. Well, seeing as to how our time will be cut short in a while, why dong we all relax and have some tea while catching up? I'm sure there are stories that you are dying to tell me."

Pidge grinned. "Oh you have no idea."

* * *

The next three hours passed by relatively quick and before they knew it, the time had passed to five. The sun was starting to set outside, showing just how much closer it was getting to winter. 

Keith stretched his legs out, glancing up at the clock. He nudged Pidge, who glanced up at the clock. The girl's huge smile was replaced by a huge frown as she realized that they still had to get home to prepare for the Thanksgiving dinner that would take place in a few hours. 

She shoved Matt, who shoved Shiro and he sighed, giving Mrs. Marilyn an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry to stop our conversation short but it seems that it's that time."

Mrs. Marilyn pouted. "Oh sugar, it does seem to be that time." 

Math smiled apologetically, walking over towards her and helping her stand up. "I'm really happy that we got to see you again after all these years, Mrs. Marilyn."

Pidge nodded, getting up before stretching and sending the old woman a small, sad smile. "As much as I hate to agree with my brother, I'm going to have to agree. We should meet up again," she said with a hopeful look in her eyes. Quickly looking down, she tugged on a strand of her long hair. 

"That is, if you want to have us over again," she added. Mrs. Marilyn laughed, waving her hand dismissively as if Pidge had spoken nonsense. 

"Of course I'd love to have you and your brother over again! All of you should stop by sometime next month; that's when I start making Christmas cookies."

Matt grinned. "Sign me up for that."

Pidge sighed, clearly relieved. "That's a huge relief." Smiling sadly, she hugged Mrs. Marilyn. "We have to go now, but we'll make sure to come back soon."

Lance made an 'aw' noise, batting eyelashes. "Aw! Pidge is being so soft! Quick, someone get it on camera."

"Done and uploaded to my snap, dude," said Matt. He gave Lance a high five, the Cuban boy looking around before casually sliding closer to Matt. 

"Hey uh, can you send me that video of Keith's interrogation? I need it for reasons."

Math grinned, motioning for Lance to give him money. Lance sighed and begrudgingly handed Matt five dollars. Matt grinned, pressing the 'send' as he sent the video of Keith's interrogation to him. "Pleasure making business with you," he added. 

Shiro shook his head disapprovingly before Lance slid up next to him. 

"Hey Shiro, you wanna buy Keith's interrogation video?"

Shiro shook his head as Allura inched closer. "Buying my brothers interrogation video is like buying drugs; I don't want it," he said before walking towards Mrs. Marilyn to bid his goodbye. 

Allura shook her head. "He's going to ask for it later, you know that right?"

Lance grinned. "I know."

The gang bid their farewells to Mrs. Marilyn and started walking out the door with Keith walking alongside Pidge. The woman smiled fondly before calling out to Pidge. 

"Katie!"

Pidge stopped and raised a brow, peeking around the door. "Yeah?"

Mrs. Marilyn smiled. "Close the door as you leave."

Pidge smiled. "Alright."

"Also-"

Pidge peeked around the door again, confusion clearly written all over her face. "Yeah?"

Mrs. Marilyn sent her a soft, small smile. "Don't let that boy go, because I really like him. He's a good boy for you."

Pidge blinked before blushing and looking to the side. "He's not even mine."

Picking up her cup of tea again, Mrs. Marilyn smiled. "Then make him yours." 

"Pidge, come on!" Called Lance from down the hall. Pidge glanced between him and Mrs. Marilyn before sighing and sending her a smile. 

"I'll try. See you next month, Mrs. Marilyn," she added while waving. 

"Goodbye, Katie." The two smiled at each other before Pidge locked the door and closed it, jogging up to catch up to the gang. 

Keith raised a brow as she joined them at the elevator, Lance mirroring him. 

"What took you so long?"

Pidge shrugged. "Had some unfinished business to talk about. Also, you ready for the dinner?"

Keith groaned. "The only thing I'm looking forward to is sleeping for the entire day tomorrow after Allura drags me and Shiro to the mall for Black Friday," he said while wearily eyeing the girl. 

Pidge snorted. "Ouch. Dude, that fucking  sucks. I'm glad that my brother hates shopping."

Matt shrugged. "I want sleep just as much as you do, Pigeon. So we are staying home and sleeping."

Pidge grinned. "Fuck yes."

Hunk chuckled. "This is one of those rare moments where you get along."

Lance snickered. "Just watch them at the table later; it's going to be hell."

Shiro chuckled. "It always is," he added. 

Lance shrugged and nodded. "That's true."

Getting off the elevator, they walked towards the car and piled in one after another with Pidge sitting next to Keith all the way in the back. Matt, Lance and Hunk sat in the middle row with Shiro and Allura up in front. 

Keith sighed. "Next stop, Thanksgiving Dinner Hell."

The group all laughed while secretly agreeing with him, because they all knew deep down inside that Thanksgiving dinners with all five families were wild. 

Slouching against Keith, Pidge plugged her earbuds into her phone and closed her eyes. Keith plucked one out of her left ear and placed it in his own ear, getting comfortable for the next forty five minute drive back to their homes. 

He was going to need the nap to survive the next few hours at the dinner and then the mall rush. 

Closing his eyes, he felt the car engine start up and let the music lull him to sleep while placing his chin on Pidge's head to which she strangely didn't complain about. 

He and Pidge didn't notice when Lance pulled out his phone and added the picture to the album which he had dedicated for the red and green duo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this, what's this? A new update a month late? Yep! Ahaha no but I'm so sorry for keeping y'all waiting but school has been so demanding that I've barely found time to write ;-;. I hope this semi long chapter makes up for my absence and this Thanksgiving themed chapter will have three parts to it, which include this part, the actual Thanksgiving dinner with Keith's shopping adventures and the final chapter to this three parter will include Lotor's party. Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, Maria out.


	15. Break My Heart: Part Two

If you ever walked past the Holt residence on a Thanksgiving evening, you would I think that it was a peaceful and calm event. You wouldn't know that inside the house there were screaming five year olds, arguing seventeen year olds and semi drunk forty year olds. 

Well, scratch that. You could probably guess that there were some semi drunk forty year olds because it was Thanksgiving, after all. 

For Keith, Thanksgiving hadn't really been a holiday that he particularly liked, to say the least. It was too loud and the loud noise that all the people made made his introverted self cry inside every time he was forced to attend a Thanksgiving feast. 

So when the Holt's invited his family over for their annual Thanksgiving feast when he was in the third grade, he had put up a fit and declared that he was going to stay home. It hadn't worked, to say the least. He was forced to go, but even though he was still mad was stuck next to Shiro the entire time. 

The one thing that really changed his perspective was the fact that Pidge was there. Pidge, the annoying little girl with the short messy brown hair and big eyes. Pidge, the one who he wanted to be close friends with but didn't know how. 

Looking back, he laughed remembering how much they had bonded at every Thanksgiving dinner by Pidge just saying 'I hate this.' Keith didn't hate Thanksgiving, he just didn't like all the social interaction which left him drained by the end of the night and the fact that he was dragged off to the mall at the most unholy hours of the morning by his mom.

Over the years he had learned to like Thanksgiving only because it was the only holiday he and Pidge shared a mutual hatred for. But he secretly liked spending additional time with her, especially as the years passed when they were joined by Lance and Hunk. 

The one thing he didn't like now? The fact that his mom made him help cook and look after the kids later even if he had constantly told her that kids were afraid of him. 

So when he walked into the Holt residence with everyone else, he was surprised to find the house at peace with the only movement in the kitchen. Exchanging confused looks with Pidge, he took out the earbud and furrowed his brows. 

"It's too quiet. I don't like it."

Pidge scoffed and shook her head, taking out her own earbud and holding it in her hand. "You always gets suspicious of everything. I'm sure Lance's siblings haven't gotten here yet, and that's why the house is still in tact."

Keith edged around the kitchen corner, peeking inside before blinking and raising a brow. "Mom?"

His mother turned around and awkwardly smiled. "Hey Keith! Back so soon?"

Keith shook his head suspiciously. "Mom, what are you trying to hide?"

Pidge raised a brow, staring at Colleen, who was trying to conceal her laughter but miserably failing as she slapped a hand over her mouth. "Mom? Are you okay?"

Colleen shook her head and finally burst out laughing, clutching her stomach as Keith's mother turned bright red as a blush overtook her face. Keith and Pidge exchanged looks, both obviously confused before Colleen finally managed to say, "SHE BURNED THE TURKEY AND TRIED TO FIX IT BY COOLING IT DOWN IN THE FRIDGE AND CLAIMING IT WAS JUST DUST."

Pidge snorted, quickly covering her mouth in an attempt to stop her laughter while Keith cynically raised a brow. 

"A turkey doesn't get dusty when you put it in the oven, right?"

Pidge shook her head in amusement, putting a hand on her hip as she gave Keith a judgmental look. "You seriously had to question that? Even I know that and I never cook during Thanksgiving."

Keith pouted, causing Pidge to smirk in satisfaction. Colleen and Scarlett, who had gotten distracted from the turkey incident by Keith and Pidge, exchanged smug looks upon seeing how they treated each other. 

Keith turned away from the shorter girl, deciding to lean against a wall. "So what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

Keith shrugged, crossing his arms. "There's a lot of us and now that we're down one turkey, there's going to be less for everyone else."

Colleen smiled. "That's why we all decided to buy another turkey just in case. Besides, the children and Katie never eat the turkey. They always eat chicken," she said while Pidge gaped at her. 

"I'm not a child!"

"I said the children and Katie, dear, not just 'the children,'' she said exasperatedly while eyeing her daughter. Pidge nodded. 

"Mhm mhm that nice. Keith, you eat turkey right?"

"It's the only good part of Thanksgiving," he replied while pulling out his phone to check the time. "Holy shit it's late."

"Keith," said his mom in a warning tone. Keith sighed. 

"Sorry. I'm just tired."

Colleen sent him a smile. "You could rest upstairs for a while if you want. I assume you're going shopping later?"

Keith groaned. "Don't remind me. Allura wants to drag me and Shiro along with her to go shopping."

Pidge grinned. "This is why I'm so glad Matt doesn't have a girlfriend. I get to stay home and sleep in."

Colleen coughed, exchanging glances with Scarlett. Pidge saw this and frowned, a brow raising in suspicion. "Matt doesn't have a girlfriend...right?"

Colleen snorted. "Katie, I would love nothing more than for your brother to be involved romantically with anyone but we both know he's still stuck pining over you know who."

Scarlett shook her head sympathetically. "He should've told him how he felt when he had the chance. It's too bad, I was hoping our two families would join together officially."

Colleen smirked, looking at her daughter from the corner of her eye. "I mean, we still have one small chance." Winking, she looked at Pidge with grin on her face. Pidge glared at her mom, a light blush dusting her face.

"Mom, he's right here," she managed to hiss through clenched teeth while rapidly looking between her mother and Keith. Keith finally got what Colleen had meant and crossed his arms tighter around himself, looking off to the side. 

"No."

Pidge laughed awkwardly, looking at Keith with an embarrassed smile. "Don't mind my mom, Keith. You know how our moms are."

Keith shrugged. "I'm used to it. They did it with your brother and Shiro too." At the mention of Shiro, Keith's mother frowned and looked at the door. 

"Speaking of Shiro; where is he? I thought he drove you to and back from visiting uh. What was her name?"

"Mrs. Marilyn," reminded Colleen while giving Scarlett a disappointed look. "She's the one who gave us these recipes so Thanksgiving wouldn't be a failure."

Scarlett gave an offended gasp, but before she could speak the door was flung open by Matt who had a small child in his arms. 

"And tio Lance never lets me eat candy after ten!"

Matt gasped, balancing the child in one arm while putting the other to his chest. "No way. Oh, hey guys." Wrinkling his nose, he started sniffing and smelling the room. "What died in here?"

"Our turkey," deadpanned Keith while lifting a hand and pointing at the burned turkey sitting in the counter, pitifully surrounded by vegetables. Matt grimaced, giving Scarlett a confused look. 

"Why did you kill the only good part of Thanksgiving?"

Scarlett flushed red, turning around to stare at the wall while Colleen snickered while trying to look serious. "Now Matt-"

"I can see where Shiro gets his shitty cooking skills from now," lamented Matt while saying it loud enough so that Shiro could hear it. Shiro, who was just walking into the house, pouted as he entered the kitchen with Lance behind him. 

"What about my cooking skills?"

"You have shitty cooking skills," said Matt blandly while covering the ears of the kid that he was holding. Shiro raised a brow. 

"Seriously? Matt, I don't think I've seen you eat anything other than instant noodles at our apartment back at Altea Uni."

Matt shrugged while balancing Lance's nephew, Mateo, on his hip before waving his free hand flippantly. "Shiro, we both know that if you weren't dating Allura you would be living off of instant noodles too." 

Shiro blushed at the mention of Allura, making Matt gag. "Shiro, buddy, just ask her to marry you already. She won't say no," he added while trying to hide the frown that was tugging on the edges of his lips. 

Pidge frowned, eyeing her brother's body movements. He had suddenly gone tense, tapping his leg rapidly on the floor while Lance looked between Shiro and Matt awkwardly. 

Shiro just sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I just want to find the perfect moment to propose. You know what I mean?"

Matt clicked his tongue inside his mouth and shook his head, seemingly growing aware of the discomfort that he was causing the others in the room. "I actually don't because I haven't proposed to anybody. There's no one worthy to share the Holt last name," he said before yelping after Mateo bit his finger. 

"Ow! Mateo!" 

Mateo blinked innocently before sucking his thumb, Pidge snorting and Lance groaning. 

"Mateo! Marisol told me that you're not supposed to suck on your thumb!" Exclaimed Lance exasperatedly before taking his nephew's thumb out of his mouth. Mateo pouted, glaring at Lance in an adorable way. 

"You're mean!"

Lance sighed again, shaking his head. "I'm being nice, because you know what will happen if you suck on your thumb?" He asked while looking down at his nephew. Mateo's eyes widened as he heard the seriousness in his Tio's voice. 

"No..?"

Lance solemnly shook his head before leaning in and whispering into Mateo's ear. "If you suck your thumb, your teeth will be crooked and you won't be able to eat candy anymore," he said while giving him a serious look. Mateo gasped before immediately sticking his thumb behind his back, causing Lance to grin in satisfaction. 

"Promise me you won't suck your thumb anymore?"

"I promise," said Mateo rather solemnly.  Lance smiled before ruffling his nephew's hair affectionately, Matt looking down at Mateo with a raised brow. 

"He still listens to you?" Asked Matt in shock while turning to look up at Lance. 

Lance shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. "He's four. He kinda has to, yunno."

Matt shrugged. "Good point. Oh, how is Marisol by the way? She holding up okay?" Asked Matt while giving Lance a serious questioning look. 

Pidge blinked and squinted to realize that a light blush dusted her brother's face. A grin overtook her face and she shot her mom a huge smirk, Keith raising a brow. 

"P-"

She quickly shushed him and watched her brother and Lance talk animatedly about Marisol, Lance's twenty three year old sister. She was a few months older than Matt, but they were good friends and he often helped her with Mateo while she worked when he was able to. 

Keith blinked in confusion, looking at Shiro for help. Shiro just send him a lopsided smile and shook his head, turning around to face the door. Keith sighed, looking down at Pidge. 

"Eshplaenn."

Pidge was temporarily knocked out of her thoughts and she blinked, turning around to face Keith before raising a brow. "What?"

Keith tapped her hand that was covering his mouth with his finger, raising a brow in expectation. Pidge blinked before realizing what he meant and she let go of his mouth, Keith leaning against the wall comfortably again. 

"Sorry about that," said Pidge distractedly as she turned her focus back on Matt, who was cradling Mateo. The young boy had curled up against Matt, clinging onto his neck while Matt cradled him. 

Keith sighed and raised a brow again. "What is so interesting about Matt that you keep looking at him with this big smirk on your face?"

Pidge raised a brow and quickly turned to face him. "I don't have a big smirk on my face."

Keith stared at her in a deadpan manner, raising a brow skeptically. "You really expect me to believe that?"

Pidge shrugged. "It usually works."

"You thinking getting him and Marisol to hook up?"

"I knew I could count on you."

The two fist bumped before Colleen stood behind them and placed both hands on their shoulders, a smile on her face. 

"If you do get your brother to ask Marisol out I'd be so thankful. He needs to get over you know who," she said while sneaking a glance at Shiro, who had gone to open the door for Allura. 

Pidge frowned and nodded, watching Shiro pull her into a hug as Allura squealed in delight. 

Keith raised a brow. "He doesn't seem so bothered by it now."

"Matt's just that kind of person who will pretend he's over it when he's not," said Pidge while looking at her brother who was holding onto Mateo tighter while talking to Lance. 

Keith frowned. "That's sad."

Pidge raised a brow. "Look who's talking," she said while looking at him and down. He gasped, obviously offended while she just snickered and lightly punched his arm. 

"It's a joke, Keith. Want to take a quick nap before you're forced to go shopping though?"

Keith nodded and Colleen smirked. 

"Actually, Katie, Allura told me that she would absolutely love it it you joined her shopping. She mentioned she wants to 'talk to you'." She smirked, Pidge groaning as she pulled her hoodie over her head. 

"I'm going to die of sleep deprivation."

"If you didn't stay up all night on your laptop, maybe you would get enough sleep," said Matt from his position next to her. Mateo was now in Lance's hands, the tall Cuban boy sitting on the couch with a sleeping Mateo. 

Pidge glared at him. "School kicks my ass, man."

"Ah yes, the classic excuse."

Pidge rolled her eyes before plopping down on the couch, eyeing her brother with an annoyed look on her face. "I don't feel like explaining myself to you."

Colleen shook her head. "You two need to stop arguing before everyone comes over."

"More like I need a nap," replied Pidge dryly before plopping down on the couch while Allura chuckled. 

"Take it; you're going to need it. We leave at twelve, just so you know," said Allura with a proud grin on her face. Pidge just groaned and sunk lower into the cushions while Keith eyed her in smug amusement before sitting down next to her. 

"At least you'll have me. We'll ditch and go get ice cream," he said in a low voice so that te others wouldn't hear. Pidge perked up at that and grinned. 

"You're officially my favorite."

"I wasn't before?"

The two looked at each other before suddenly laughing, the others around them not even questioning what the two were laughing about. They were used to this happening. 

Eventually, the hour passed and Pidge actually fell asleep, Lance strategically placing Mateo on top of her stomach so he was curled up on top of her like a cat. Keith struggled not to laugh as he placed a blanket over the two of them, smiling fondly at Pidge's relaxed face. 

It was one of the few times that she didn't look like she was about to murder someone. Might as well enjoy it. 

Matt sighed from his place at the kitchen table where he and Shiro were helping to set the table along with the rest of Lance's family, eyeing Keith with a raised a brow. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

Keith rolled his eyes before glancing at Pidge, deciding to instead turn around and walk towards the table before plopping down in a chair. "She'd kill me if she found out."

Matt took a seat next to Keith, eyeing him critically. "You're an idiot, you know."

"Thanks," replied Keith dryly. 

Matt grinned. "No problem! But seriously, you pine over my sister in the most obvious ways that it's sickening."

Keith smirked. "Reminds me of a certain Shiro and Matt that I know."

Matt screeched before throwing his napkin at Keith, the boy dodging it as the napkin fell to the floor. Matt glared at Keith and stuck his fork in his face angrily. "You can't just say that, man!"

Keith shrugged before grinning smugly and taking a sip from his cup, Matt glaring before grinning smugly. 

"I mean it might sound horrible for me but for you, Keith? Damn! You've been pining for her while she's been pining for -get this- Lotor!"

Keith choked on his drink before spitting it out into the floor, coughing and pounding on his chest frantically while Colleen looked at him in concern. 

"Keith, are you alright?"

Keith weakly nodded and continued coughing, Matt's smirk turning into a look of concern as he frantically reached over to pat Keith on the back. 

"Dude, dude! Stop dying on me!"

Keith stopped coughing about ten seconds later, eyes immediately latching into Matt's as his gaze hardened. "What the fuck."

Matt grinned uneasily, slowly getting up backing away. "Easy there, Keith. Wouldn't want you doing you're going to regret later, right?" He chuckled nervously, Keith glaring at him before frowning, looking away from Matt. 

Matt stopped backing away and tentatively walked towards Keith, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You know I was kidding, right?"

Keith sighed. "Yeah. But that doesn't stop the fact that she could like him."

Matt raised a brow before sitting down. "Listen Keith, I'm going to tell you this right now. You listening?"

"Yeah?"

"Good good. Okay, first of all, my sister isn't going to fall for mister Dorito chin."

"Isn't that Lance?"

"No, it's Lotor. Have you seen his jaw? It's sharper than Shiro's!"

"Shiro has an angular jaw."

"Obviously," said Matt while scoffing and glancing back at Mateo, who had stirred in his sleep. 

Keith snorted. "I don't know what you saw in that angular jaw."

Matt frowned. "Looks aren't everything, you know. In order to be in love with someone, you can't just fall for the exterior part of them; you have to fall in love with their interior too and their attitude. If you two can handle each other in a peaceful and loving way then that's how you know it's love."

Keith raised a brow expectantly, his words hanging unsaid in the air as Matt's eyes widened upon realizing what Keith was leaving unsaid. 

He blushed, looking to the side before pouting. "I know what you want to say and I will completely deny it so don't say it."

Keith shrugged. "I was going to say that Marisol has a nice jaw and personality too."

Matt blinked before smiling fondly, staring at the wall. "Yeah. Marisol is pretty great."

Lance poked his head from around the open refrigerator door, eyes closing suspiciously as he saw Matt. "What did you say about Mari?"

"That she's a pretty great person," replied Matt with the fond smile only growing on his face. Keith raised a brow. 

"You were literally just talking about how you used to pine over my brother an hour ago."

Matt shrugged. "It's called 'I'm confused'. Maybe you've heard of it?" He replied while staring snootily at Keith. Keith rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and turning towards the table. 

"I haven't heard of it, I am confused."

Lance snickered. "About what; another horrible hairstyle to cut your hair into? I suggest a mohawk."

Matt burst out laughing, Hunk giggling from his place at the stove with his mom. Keith just pouted, glaring at Lance. 

"I hate mohawks! Not the people but the stupid hairstyle," replied Keith while glaring at Lance. 

Matt grinned, putting at hand in the air. "Yeah uh, that would I scar me for years. How about bushy bird hair so you can match my sister?"

Lance burst out laughing, Colleen feeling a grin tug at the edges of her lips while the others helping set the table listened to the conversation with amusement. 

"Pidge is a bird confirmed!" Exclaimed Lance from his position at the stove with Hunk, Hunk chuckling as he listened in on the conversation. 

"Be careful or you'll summon her," warned Hunk in amusement. 

Matt snorted before waving him off. "Pfft, as if. She's basically dead," he said while look at back at her, only to find that she was holding Mateo while looking at her brother with a deadly glare. Matt paled, tugging on the neck of his shirt before audibly gulping, Lance shutting his mouth out of fear that Pidge would attack him next. 

"H-hey Pidge! So uh, how was your nap? Good I hope? Good!" He chuckled awkwardly as Pidge's left eye twitched Keith shaking his head. 

"You never wake Pidge up. That's the first rule. Have you seriously forgotten it?"

"It was your fault!"

Keith looked at Matt in shock, mouth open as he glared at him. "My fault?! You're the one giving love advice when nobody asked for it!"

Pidge suddenly burst out laughing, placing a hand over her mouth to try and his her amusement. Keith looked at her with a raised brow, a half - confused and half - amused look on his features. Matt just looked plain out confused. 

"Why are you laughing after waking up? You're not my sister. YOU CLONE!"

Pidge stopped laughing, looking back at Shiro who was with Allura on the other couch watching tv and eating popcorn. 

"If anyone is the clone, it's Shiro."

"Hey! I'm not a clone!"

Pidge snorted. "Sure. You just got an awkward new hairstyle miraculously over the weekend."

Shiro looked at her in exasperation, Allura giggling into her palm. 

"Shiro, this is why I strongly advised you from cutting your own hair at home. We can't trust you with scissors," she said with a teasing tone in her voice. Shiro just blushed and scratched his neck, Allura laughing while Matt gagged. 

"Sickening. If I had a girlfriend, she'd have to be wild like me. That way, our kids will be wild and better than yours," he said while plopping down on the couch next to his sister. 

Keith smirked. "Oh so Marisol?"

"Marisol isn't wild, she's sweet with some salt here and there. She's a great person," said Matt nonchalantly. Lance raised a brow, exchanging a look with his mom before grinning and pulling her aside. 

"Mama, do you think Matt will end up as _el novio_ de Marisol?"

" _Claro que si mijo,_ " replied his mom in amusement while watching Pidge and Keith give Matt a knowing look. "And Keith and Katie  too," she said slyly while looking at Scarlett and Colleen. 

Colleen sighed exasperatedly, eyeing her daughter with a slight frown. "I don't get why she doesn't just tell him! She's going to end up like Matt."

Scarlett shook her head remorsefully, her eyes searching her son's face as he watched Pidge try to get Mateo to stop tugging on her ponytail.  "That or Keith is going to end up like Matt."

"Pining and heartbroken," said all four mothers in unison while Hunk and Lance pitifully shook their heads. Matt just turned to look at them in confusion, Pidge doing the same. 

"They're crazy," Pidge decided before turning around to stare at Keith. "Keith, you're going shopping too, right?"

"Unfortunately," was the boy's curt response. 

Pidge raised a brow. "Don't you need sleep to make it through the hours of shopping?"

"I believe that coffee can do miracles," he murdered before plopping down on the couch next to her, groaning as he threw his head back and rubbed circles over his eyes. "I'm tired though."

"I told you that you could sleep in my room for a while but you wouldn't listen."

Keith picked his head up and sent her a bored expression. "Pidge, your room is a mess. A year ago it was so spotless and now it's just piles after piles of books and clothes everywhere."

Pidge scoffed, dismissively waving him away. "You're just being a critic. If I know where everything is, then it's not a mess. I have a system. It's like Hunk and his tools; there's a system and he knows exactly where everything is even if we think it's weird."

Hunk smiled proudly from his place in the kitchen, peeking his head around the corner to look at her. "Everything has its place, and it's so easy!"

Lance scoffed from his place at the table in the dining room where he was placing cups in, his two sisters placing forks alongside him while his brother's helped pass plates and the rest of his family helped watch over the smaller children. "Keith, you're being really hypocritical because your room literally looked like that before Shiro came."

Keith shrugged. "At least it's been clean for a few months," he said while sneaking a look at Pidge. The girl pouted, shoving his arm with her left hand. 

"I could keep it clean if I wanted to!"

"Twenty says you can't."

"Forty says that I can keep it up until the end of the competition. By the way, I call dibs on keeping Voltron in my room."

Lance gasped from his place in the kitchen, quickly rushing into the living room with a spoon in his hand. "No no no, you are so not keeping Voltron! I already called dibs on keeping Voltron in my house! I even made a space in the corner of my room for it!" He declared while waving the spoon wildly in her face. 

Keith raised a brow. "Why do you have a spoon? Weren't you just putting cups on the table?"

"That's not important!"

"He took it from out of the cookie dough," cake Hunk's dry reply from the kitchen where he was indeed making more cookies for dessert. Lance pouted. 

"Hunk!" He whined, crossing his arms. 

Matt sent Lance an unamused look. "Look Lance, you're my bro and all but I think that keeping Voltron in your house would be a bad idea. Mateo would climb all over it," he said while looking down at Mateo who was throwing blocks at the wall. 

Lance sighed, crossing his arms. "Mateo isn't even over at my house that much now that Marisol is working night shifts at the restaurant."

Matt's eyes widened as a smirk crept onto his face. "Wait, so Marisol finally found a stable workplace and your dad finally forgave her?"

Lance smiled, nodding. "Papa finally realized that he was unfair when he kicked her out while she was pregnant and now they're bonding again. Marisol is una mesera at the restaurant during the night, so Mateo just sleeps with mama."

Matt nodded, smiling fondly. "I'm glad Marisol finally found a stable job. Is she by any chance coming over today?" 

Pidge's eyes widened and she smirked, placing an arm over his shoulder while giving him a devious look. "So what's with all the questions about Marisol, huh? Got anything to tell us?"

Matt blinked and shook his head. "Marisol has always had it tough so I just want to see if she's doing okay. You know, like a good friend!"

Shiro snorted as he got up to help his mom place the food platters on the dining room table, smirking at Matt. "Yeah, really good friends."

Matt rolled his eyes before turning his attention towards Mateo, deciding to ignore everyone's deadpan expressions as he played with the little boy. Keith and Pidge both rolled their eyes before a voice called out for everyone to eat, everyone climbing over each other to find a place at the dining room table.

Pidge blinked as the blur of Lance's family passed by her, Keith doing the same before shrugging and getting up, offering her a hand. 

"We should go find seats before we're sent to the patio."

Pidge snickered before hesitantly taking his hand, glaring at the smug smirks that were on Keith and Matt's faces. 

Eventually everyone settled down at the table and started eating in between all the chatter and various conversations. There were many jokes said, and there was much of the mother's and fathers pestering Shiro about when he would propose to Allura. The two had laughed it off, saying that they would get married whenever the time was right, but everyone could see the glint in Shiro's eyes and they knew it would be sooner than later. 

Overall, it was a good dinner with the only mishap being Keith accidentally flicking gravy at Lance, causing the other to screech and the two engaged in a king food fight. The real tragedy, in Matt's opinion, was the way that most of the peas ended up on the floor instead of being eaten. 

Pidge laughed until her sides hurt, everyone just having such fun together. She always said she hated it, but she actually enjoyed how the dinner was unpredictable and how she always ended up having fun. 

The dinner eventually came to an end and the adults remained at the table talking things over while everyone else went off to do their own thing. That meant that the rowdy Altea High seniors would go upstairs into Pidge's room and do whatever they wanted to before the night was over. 

As soon as they were allowed to leave their seats, the group made a beeline for the stairs and ran upstairs, the adults not even even questioning it because it was tradition at this point. 

Pidge immediately threw herself into her chair, leaning back as Lance plopped himself on the beanbag that was in the far corner of her room. Keith sat on the edge of her bed, Hunk sitting on the other edge. 

"Well ladies, what do you want to do today?"

Keith snorted, rolling his eyes and looking up at her in amusement. "You're the only lady here."

"I'm going to choose to ignore that sentence. But really guys, what should we do?"

Hunk shrugged his shoulders and became pensive, lips in a slight pout as he thought of a possible activity. He looked towards Lance for help and felt his heart stop as Lance grinned like a Cheshire Cat, rubbing his hands together mischievously. 

"Seven Minutes in Heaven sounds like a good idea to me; don't you think so, Hunk?"

Keith's eyes widened and Pidge just scoffed, rolling her eyes. 

"Didn't know you were that desperate to get it that you would suggest Seven Minutes in Heaven with us."

Lance gasped and shot an accusatory finger at her. "Yeah yeah laugh it up. I'll have you know that I met the best person ever and am currently in the process of asking that person out while you're stuck pining over a dude for years."

Now Pidge gasped as she frowned, her teeth clenched as her brows furrowed. "Hey, don't bring my life into this! And where's your proof that you have a sudden love interest? This isn't a cartoon where writers suddenly thrust a relationship upon you even though it doesn't make sense!"

"If that was the case, then Keith and Allura would be dating," said Hunk while shrugging. Keith wrinkled his nose, raising his hands. 

"Why did you bring me into this?!"

"SHUT UP!" Roared the duo that was sending each other death glares as they stared at each other aggressively. The tension in the room was unbearable until suddenly the door was flung open and Matt ran in, phone in hand. 

"I sensed tension and came as fast as I could!"

Lance and Pidge blinked before looking at him with confused faces, Keith shaking his head and facepalming. 

"You can sense tension?" Asked Pidge as she leaned back in her chair before spinning around to look at her brother critically. "That is one of the most stupid things that's ever come out of your mouth."

"And here we see a wild Pidge in her habitat harassing her brother like she always does even though she'd be crying if he ever disappeared."

Matt grinned. "Hey, you should add that to Voltron's backstory. Haven't you ever thought of adding a backstory to your project?" He asked upon seeing their blank faces. 

Lance slowly shook his head, sitting up straight as he crossed his left leg over his right. "No we haven't, but I have ideas on what roles we could play." He immediately stood up and leaned into the middle of the room, grinning from ear to ear. 

"So I would naturally be the most dashing person ever who convinced you to go with me because you would be drooling at my feet-."

"Wrong; if anyone would convince us it'd be Shiro," replied Pidge blandly. Lance pouted and glared at her. 

"Fine, then you tell the story! It's probably going to be lame," he added while crossing his arms childishly. Pidge rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. 

"Watch me. Okay, so Voltron is a weapon right? What if it's an outer space weapon that fights against these furry like creatures who want to take over the universe?"

Keith blinked, raising a brow. "That actually doesn't sound bad. It'd be like we were a sci-fi movie."

Pidge grinned. "Exactly. So since Matt is obsessed with space like Shiro, what if they went on an expedition to space and got kidnapped by the furry creatures? And then one of them escaped and came to warn earth about the furry creatures?"

Lance gave her a side eye, rolling his eyes and looking away from her. "It would be Shiro because he has the muscles and brains to do it."

"Hey!" Said Matt, obviously insulted that Lance had said that he didn't have brains or muscle. 

Pidge snickered. "Matt, you get to be the badass rebel. "

"Sign me the fuck up."

Hunk grinned. "So what about our backstory? We wouldn't have all known Shiro, so how would we meet? And where does Allura come into play?"

"Well, I would be the character that insists that the mission wasn't a pilot error because Shiro would never crash, let's be honest."

The group all solemnly nodded, Pidge eventually speaking up again. 

"So I would sneak into the space program place or whatever and I'd go looking like a boy because I would've been caught as a girl before."

"This is some anime level bullshit. When do we unlock level four of your tragedy?" Teased Matt before Pidge threw a pencil at him. 

"Shut up. Anyways, Keith would've known Shiro before because they're brothers and Shiro would've known me because of Matt. So basically, Lance and Hunk are besties in whatever program they're in and they tag along the night Shiro crash lands back on earth where we get taken to a planet by one of the lions and we meet Allura who's this badass princess-"

"How did we go from students to kick ass Paladins?" Asked Lance with a raised brow. "And most importantly, how did we go from Seven Minutes in Heaven to Voltron?"

"It's called a diversion, Lance."

Matt grinned. "Oh so that's why there was tension? Please, by all means, continue your game," he said while wiggling his brows suggestively with a shit eating grin on his face. 

Pidge gagged. "I'd rather not."

"You're just scared of the closet."

"That's why I came out of it, Lance."

Keith snickered and grinned. "Pidge, we weren't talking about the closet in that way."

"Shh, it's almost like you actually want to play this stupid game."

Lance grinned, pulling a water bottle out from behind his back. "I've got the water bottle ready. Are you going to play, Pidge? Or are you too chicken?" He asked, furrowing his brows and grinning devilishly. 

Pidge scowled before taking the bottle out of his hand, placing it in front of her to spin it. "I'm no fucking chicken, Lance. Game on."

Everyone except Keith cheered and sat down, the raven haired boy just sighing and plopping down across from her. "Lance, let me sit next to Pidge."

"Nu-uh, not today! You have to sit where there's an available seat and the only one is across her. Don't be a jackass and ruin the game."

Keith frowned, sitting across from Pidge hesitantly. _If the bottle fucking lands on me and Pidge I'm going to scream,_ thought Keith as Lance spun the bottle, the bottle stopping in front of him and Pidge. 

He looked at Pidge, horrified only to see her looking back at him with the same horrified expression. Lance and Matt were grinning manically as Lance practically yanked the closet door open and pushed a screeching Pidge inside. 

"IN YOU GO! MATT, GET KEITH!"

Keith blinked and before he knew it, he was shoved into the closet by Matt and he practically fell into Pidge. The last thing the duo saw was Hunk's apologetic face and Lance and Matt's grinning faces before the door was slammed shut and a high five was heard, presumably between Matt and Lance. 

Pidge groaned and slid down the wall with a loud thud as she hit the floor, running a hand through her hair. "What the fuck man."

"SEVEN MINUTES!"

"SHUT UP I KNOW!" Yelled back Pidge as she heard Matt and Lance laughing from her room. 

Keith frowned. "Can't you just open the door?"

Pidge shook her head, pulling her phone out to shine the flashlight. "Nope; it locks from the outside. I don't even know why closets have locks on them."

"People are idiots. What are you going to hide in a closet?"

Pidge felt a grin pull at the edges of her lips as she looked up at Keith deviously. "Well, for starters-"

"Oh my god. I meant other than hiding your sexuality, Pidge."

Pidge rolled her eyes in amusement before looking down at her phone, opening her messages. "Allura sent me a message two days ago about shopping and I never saw it. Oops."

Keith raised a brow and hesitantly sat down next to her after gathering enough courage to do so. "You mean you have friends other than Allura and us?"

Pidge playfully shoved his arm, returning her focus to her phone afterwards. "Shut up. I've been talking with Ezor a lot and I'm so convinced that she's addicted to her phone."

"Same could be said for you now," said Keith while trying to look at her messages over her shoulder. Pidge snorted and pushed his head away, causing Keith to pout. 

"Reading someone else's messages is wrong, Keith."

"You didn't say that when we read through Shiro's messages in high school to find out who he was dating."

"Okay but That's Shiro and this is me. There's a difference."

Loud laughter was heard and a door was slammed, Pidge and Keith stiffening as they realized that everyone had ran out of the room and had left them alone in a locked closet. 

Pidge felt her cheeks burn as she leapt up and tried to open the closet, the door not moving as she pounded on it. "MATT YOU JACKASS IF YOU DON'T OPEN THE DOOR-"

Keith frowned, tugging on her arm. "Pidge, he's obviously not coming back anytime soon. Let's just stay in here and blame your brother when the police discover our bodies all rotted in your closet."

"How would we blame him if we're dead?"

"Ghosts, duh. They're real."

"I'd be a demon and you'd be a ghost because I'm the more deadly one."

"I throw knives!"

"I can hack into people's devices and put their nudes on the internet and spill their secrets. I may or may not have hacked into NASA's data base. Let's just say, there's some things that should stay private."

"Holy shit," said Keith in awe. "You're a demon."

"Oh fuck yeah." She yawned, dropping her phone on the floor in the process. "Oh fuck, I'm tired."

Keith nodded in agreement. "Me too. How about we sleep?"

"In the closet?"

"Well we have nowhere else to go."

Pidge rolled her eyes before pulling a pillow off the top shelf in her room, putting it on Keith's lap. "Move, I'm sleeping on your lap." Her face was on fire and she was never more thankful that the darkness covered her blush. 

Keith felt his heart pounding in his chest as he choked out an, "Okay." 

Pidge hesitantly leaned her head on the pillow, keeping her phone in her hand until she slowly drifted off to sleep with the only sound in the closet being her light snores. 

Keith looked down at her with a smile, the dim light of her phone showing her peaceful face. He carefully ran his fingers through her hair and she smiled, hugging the pillow tighter and he felt his heart swell. _If only I could do this to you when you're awake,_ he thought bitterly as he ran a hand through his own hair. 

He peeked over at Pidge's buzzing phone and saw that messages from a group chat were flooding in and he reached out to pick it up before pausing and remembering what she had told him earlier. He felt guilty and instead sighed and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as he drifted off to sleep. It was the only thing he could do, after all. 

Lord knew he would need the sleep if he was being taken shopping at three am.

* * *

"Are they sleeping?"

"What if she accidentally grabbed his dick while he was sleeping? Ow! Shiro!"

"Don't say that, they can hear you!"

"They're passed out cold, what can they possibly hear? Lance, send me that picture."

"Ten bucks."

"I'll give you fifty for the album."

"You've got yourself a deal."

Keith groaned as he heard voices, blinking his eyes before rubbing them and looking around in confusion. "Huh?"

The voices stopped and he was met with Allura and Shiro's curious faces while Lance and Matt looked like deer caught in the headlights with their phones out taking pictures of the sleeping duo. Hunk was nowhere to be seen. 

Allura spoke up first. "Oh you're awake! How was your four hour nap?"

Keith's eyes grew to the size of saucers as he blinked. "Did I hear you right or am I hallucinating? Four hours?"

"That's the shortest time you've been in a closet," said Matt, which earned him a disapproving look from Shiro. Shiro then turned towards Keith and sent him a gentle smile. 

"Hey Keith. Sleep well?"

"I was until you jackasses woke me up."

"Keith, stop moving I'm trying to sleep."

The chatter from outside the closet died down as everyone looked down at Pidge, the girl sighing as she kept her eyes closed. 

"I said it out loud, didn't I?"

"Yeah."

"Fuck." Sitting up, she looked around while squinting. "Keith, pass me my glasses."

"You didn't have them on."

"Oh my god I got blinder when I fell asleep." She stood up and stretched, immediately locking eyes with Matt and glaring. "Oh look, it's mister 'hey let me lock my sister in the closet for fun hurhurhur.''

Matt grinned. "Yup, that's me! How you doing Pidge?"

"Horrible. It's one and I'm assuming that Allura wants to go to the mall now."

Lance grinned. "Wait, are we going back to the mall where we got chased by the cops?"

Pidge raised a brow. "When did you get chased by cops?"

Allura and Shiro sent Lance dirty looks and he shut up, chuckling nervously. "Hahaha, chased by cops? I must be confusing fiction with reality again. Oops."

Pidge shook her head looked towards Allura, running a hand through her long messy locks. "So are we leaving now?"

"Yes," said Allura sheepishly. "If you're really that tired, you can sleep in the cart," she offered with a smile. Pidge looked at Allura with a confused face before shaking her head and picking up her portable charger from her desk after walking out of the closet. 

"No I think I'll be fine. I don't know about Keith though."

"I'll last a longer time standing than you will. You're going to fall asleep in the cart," said Keith flatly. Pidge pouted and crossed her arms, looking away from him. 

"Listen, if that happens then you can eat all the goddamn peanut butter cookies that are in my stash."

"Oh, you're that confident?"

"Definitely," she said while sending him a smirk. She then put her jacket one and walked out of the room, heading down the stairs. "Anyone want me, I'll be in the car. Keith, hurry up."

Keith rolled his eyes before following her outside, his head still messy from when he had been sleeping. Allura and Shiro exchanged looks while Matt and Lance grinned. 

"So am I making sure she sleeps and gets carried by Keith or are you?"

"Both is good."

"Excellent choice!" They laughed and ran downstairs after Keith and Pidge, Hunk walking into the room with a confused face. 

"Is it time to go already?"

Shiro groaned and slid a hand over his face, looking tiredly after the four that had ran out. "I'm already regretting going shopping with these kids so early in the morning."

* * *

The mall was chaos from the first moment they stepped inside. 

Allura immediately made a beeline for Victoria's Secret, Lance and Matt heading towards GameStop while Shiro ran after Allura. Hunk and Keith were the only ones who remained with Pidge, who looked like she was about to fall dead on her feet. 

Hunk cautiously looked around at the crazy crowd where everyone was running into different stores before sighing and motioning for the two to follow him. 

"Let's go to the food court, guys. Maybe Sal is open."

Pidge looked at Hunk with adoring eyes, placing a hand on his arm. "I have so much respect for you now."

Hunk grinned before walking towards the food court with Keith and Pidge behind him, the two looking around wearily at the crowd of people who were screaming over different clothes in various stores. 

"You think someone ever died because they got trampled over?"

Keith raised a brow before shrugging. "Maybe. Why?"

"I'm about to be one of those people if I don't get to sit down soon."

Keith looked at her in alarm before pushing her into a chair in the food court, Hunk looking delighted as he spotted Sal's familiar face. 

"Hey look, Sal is still here! I'm going to be right back, okay?"

Keith waved and Pidge nodded, the small girl curling into a ball in her chair. 

"I'm so tired," she complained while pulling her hoodie over the head. Keith shook his head sympathetically. 

"Me too."

"Want to go draw some shit on the tablets at Best Buy?"

"I'm all for it."

Pidge lifted her head and smiled before jumping up and pulling Keith along towards Best Buy, the poor boy barely having enough time to register what was happening. 

Once they reached Best Buy, they duo immediately ran towards the drawing tablet section which was surprisingly not swamped with people. The bigger and better Best Buy was halfway across town, which was where everyone usually went during Black Friday. 

"Okay Keith, lets see what you'll draw this year."

Keith grinned before picking up the stylus and drawing on the tablet, Pidge peering from the side at his work. Keith grinned proudly at his work after ten minutes of drawing, Pidge gasping as her eyes went widen 

"That's some beautiful fucking art, dude."

Keith smirked. "I know. It rivals DaVinci."

Pidge grinned as she took a picture and uploaded it to her Snapchat, titling it 'Keith is the new DaVinci.' Keith grinned proudly at his creation. 

"This is my best work yet."

Pidge snickered. "I'll say. Lance looks like he's that one chicken from Moana."

Keith burst out laughing, causing Pidge to started laughing as they eyed the piece that Keith had so skillfully drawn. Indeed, there was Lance with his eyes bulging out of his too small head while his arms looked like ramen noodles flailing about while his neck was as long as a giraffe with a chicken body. 

Pidge grinned, wiping a tear from her eye. "Lance is going to be so mad when he finds out what you did holy shit."

"Worth it."

The two chuckled before Pidge looked at a cart that had been left unattended and a spark came to her eyes, her eyes glimmering deviously as she eyes the cart. 

"You know Keith, maybe we should fulfill Allura's prophecy about me riding in a cart while she pushes it."

"She's not even here though."

"She's here in spirit, Keith. You can pretend to be Allura."

Keith made one of the most disgusted faces before Pidge sauntered towards the cart, making sure no one was watching before she pushed it towards Keith. He blinked and caught it before it crashed into him, Pidge jumping inside and sitting on her knees. 

"ONWARD HO, CAPTAIN EMO!"

Keith rolled his eyes before looking around and getting a glimmer in his eyes. "Your wish is my command." He then took off running through the store, causing many customers to scream and evade them as Keith dangerously rounded every corner before finally getting out of the store while still running. 

"I'M HIGH ON LIFE, KEITH! GO FASTER!"

Keith rolled his eyes before pushing himself forward and running faster, causing Pidge to scream of joy while sticking her hands out like Rose on the Titanic while Keith kept grinning as he nearly ran people over. 

They passed GameStop where Matt and Lance were walking out of with a bag each, the meme duo looking after Keith and Pidge in confusion before Matt screeched and ran after his sister. 

"PIDGE YOU'RE GOING TO RUN OVER THE PEOPLE!"

"FUCK THE PEOPLE, I'M LIVING THE BEST LIFE!" She cackled as Keith ran past Victoria's Secret, which caused Allura to be confused as she saw Lance and Matt running after the cart. 

Shiro groaned before chasing after Matt and Lance, Allura following after Shiro as she pulled her extremely large bag behind her. 

Keith stopped at the food court, causing Pidge to fall forward in the cart. He winced, looking down at her in concern. "Pidge, you okay?"

"I'm going to sleep now, but you are really fucking amazing my dude." She promptly turned on her side and curled up in the cart, falling asleep in a matter of seconds. 

Keith looked at her with a confused look before Matt came up to him and leaned on his knees, panting heavily. "You can't just run with a shopping cart through a mall during Black Friday, Keith!"

"Says the actual walking meme."

"I may be a memestar, but I'm not a threat to the people who are just looking for good deals on clothes."

Keith rolled his eyes, plopping down on a chair next to the cart. "Say what you want, but I just made sure Pidge won't he harassing you at five am because she didn't get enough sleep. She's asleep in the cart. You're welcome."

Matt looked down at his sister and then at Keith before sighed and shaking his head. "I give up now. But seriously, try not to get anyone hurt with a cart, Keith."

"Okay okay. I'm sorry," added Keith with a small sigh.

"Keith!"

Keith winced at the way Shiro called his name, watching Allura and Lance run up to him with Shiro. Shiro stopped in front of Keith with a disappointed look. 

"You can't run with a cart in a mall during Black Friday, Keith! That's called reckless endangerment! Someone could've gotten seriously hurt!"

"But they didn' get hurt and Pidge is asleep! If she was up you know she'd be harassing you the entire week for depriving her of sleep. I did you a favor," he replied sourly. Shiro sighed and spoke again. 

"Keith."

Keith blinked before looking away, mouth curling downwards  "I'm sorry," he mumbled. Shiro sighed and put two fingers up to the bridge of his nose. 

"Do you guys still want to shop or should we just go home?"

Allura frowned. "If we leave now I won't get to check out the new deal at Bed Bath and Beyond. I saw some really nice bed sheets too," she lamented sadly as she looked to the side. 

Shiro frowned, looking at his girlfriend with a sympathetic look. "I know you do, but we can always order them online."

Allura sighed. "I guess you're right."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Shiro, let's just continue shopping. We all know Keith is going to stay put now that Pidge is basically dead to the world, right Keith?"

Keith nodded and put his head down between his arms. "I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when it's over."

Allura grinned, pulling Shiro along. "Come On Shiro! I have a lot of stores that I want to check out before we go home!"

Shiro waved towards the group and Matt looked around, obviously bored out of his mind. 

"Should we just stay here? Me and Lance really only came to see if you'd win the bet and to buy some games. Both were accomplished so we have nothing to do."

Hunk walked over with a tray, placing small ice cream cups in front of the trio. "Here guys. Sal thought you could use some cheering up, especially Keith after he got the disappointing dad look from Shiro again."

Lance grinned, hugging Hunk's arm. "Hunk mi amor, you're a gift sent from the angels above."

Hunk giggled, blushing as he placed the ice cream in front of the small group. "Aw, thanks buddy." He looked at Keith, who still looked sad. Slightly smiling, he slid Keith his ice cream and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

"Look man, I'm sure Shiro was only talking like that because he doesn't want to see anyone, including you, getting hurt. You know he is."

Keith sighed, looking up at Hunk. "You think so?"

Hunk smiled. "Oh I know so. Eat your ice cream and relax. Before you know it, we'll be going home and you'll get to sleep in peace."

Keith smiled. "Thanks, Hunk."

"No problem buddy." Hunk grinned as he walked back towards Sal, Keith popping his earbuds into his ears and started eating his ice cream. Sometime during the next two hours, Keith fell asleep and was only woken up when Shiro stumbled as he carried Keith inside the house. 

"Mmm. Shiro...?"

Shiro sighed softly, smiling. "I've got you, buddy. You tired?"

"Exhausted." He started falling asleep before snapping awake and looking at his older brother. "You didn't leave Pidge in the shopping cart, right?"

Shiro chuckled lowly, Allura doing the same from next to him. "No, I didn't leave her in the cart. Matt carried her into the car and put her in her bed when we got home."

Keith smiled, seemingly satisfied with Shiro's answer. 

"You feel like walking up the stairs?"

"I'm tired."

"Carrying it is. Allura, you can go to bed without me right now. I'll be there in a moment." He pressed quick kiss to her temple before she smiled and walked upstairs, heading to their shared room while Shiro walked upstairs towards Keith's room. 

"This reminds me of when you were little," murmured Shiro as he walked into Keith's room. Looking around, he smiled fondly. "Nothing in your room has changed."

"Shut up please I'm tired."

Shiro chuckled. "Okay okay, I'm sorry." He carefully placed Keith down in his bed, the seventeen year old curling up like a cat as he clutched his pillow between his arms. Shiro sat down on the side of his bed, sighed as he placed a hand on Keith's back. 

"Hunk told me what happened." He felt Keith stiffen under him, and he chuckled slightly. "I'm not mad, but I'm not going to hide the fact that I was disappointed that you put everyone, including yourself, in danger. I can't stay mad at you, Keith. I don't hate you, but I want you to be more careful."

Keith sighed deeply, slightly patting his lips. "Okay."

Shiro sighed again, smiling fondly at his younger brother. "Get some rest. Tomorrow is the one day where you get to sleep until however long you feel like." Standing up, he ruffled Keith's hair and smiled more when Keith attempted to swat Shiro's hand away. 

"Shiro stop, I'm not a baby."

"You'll always be my baby brother, Keith." He then turned to walk towards the door, only stopping when he heard a faint, "I love you, Shiro."

Keith hadn't told him that since he was a young child, and it brought back memories of his earlier childhood where he and Keith did everything together. He smiled fondly, turning at the doorway to stare at his brother's form. 

"Love you too, buddy." He then turned and walked toward his and Allura's shared room, closing the door to Keith's room behind him. 

Keith tried to keep his eyes closed, but he felt something eating at him inside. It was a bad feeling; a feeling that something bad was going to happen sooner or later, and more sooner than later.

* * *

Lotor chuckled as he ran a brush through his hair, making sure that it was smooth. Acxa looked at him through the tv screen, Ezor next to her looking tired. 

"Lotor, we have all the plans ready. Tomorrow is going to be the day where everything finally starts getting put into action, mainly getting started with P- Katie."

Lotor chuckled. "Don't be afraid to call her Pidge, Acxa. It's quite alright. But have you made sure that Keith will be with her that day too?"

Ezor nodded from her place next to Acxa. "It's a given that he'll go; he's overprotective of her even if she isn't his girlfriend."

Lotor grinned. "That is fantastic news. I cannot wait for Saturday. Keith's heart with be broken and his souls will be crushed while I get what I want. Girls, tomorrow is looking promising," he said while looking deviously into the mirror as his lips pulled into a cruel smirk. Acxa and Ezor exchanged concerned looks, the two only looking at Lotor with frowns. 

Suddenly, tomorrow was looking like one of the worst days for them and for team Voltron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo! New update, and just in time for the end of the month haha. Happy Halloween, guys! I worked my ass off to try and get this finished by today and I'm so glad that I got to finish it today. As usual, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait for you guys to read the next one where some unpleasant things happen and the title of the chapter becomes relevant. Thank you for reading, Maria out!  
> Follow me on tumblr @ camphalfgalra for chapter updates and silly shit posts that me and my fellow kidge friends do, or just come talk about Voltron with me!  
> (P.S: If anyone here ships kallura please don't be offended by that part where I sort of bash on kallura. I don’t hate kallura. I’m a mumtishipper, and I happen to have a soft spot for some kallura. I just wanted to include some light humor, but I hope I did not offend any of you.<3)


	16. Break My Heart: Part Three

The atmosphere felt off leading up to Friday night. It was if there was something coming; something big, but Pidge couldn't put a finger on it. Maybe she was just being paranoid. 

Friday morning had been uneventful, with the only thing happening being the fact that everyone basically slept until three in the afternoon. Well, everyone but Pidge who had been woken up at the unholy hour of eight in the morning. 

"RISE AND SHINE, PIDGE!"

Pidge screamed as the covers were ripped off of her body by cold hands, pulling her knees up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around herself. The curtains in her room were parted and Ezor dusted her hands off, grinning at the windows in satisfaction. 

"Now that's a sight I could get used to."

"It's just the sunlight, Ezor."

"Hey, nobody likes a party pooper, Acxa!"

Acxa rolled her eyes, instead flickering her gaze over towards where Zethrid was looking at Pidge in concern while Narti just stared at the larger girl with a bored expression. 

"Did we kill her?"

Acxa face palmed, causing Narti to chuckle before getting up and poking Pidge with her index finger. The girl groaned in response, blinking wearily as she tried to look at her surroundings. She hissed as she saw the open curtains, shielding her eyes with her arms. 

"SHUT THE DAMN CURTAINS YOU HEATHENS I DON'T LIKE THE LIGHT!"

Ezor raised a brow before shrugging and closing the curtains, causing the room to fall into a shade of darkness once more. "Geez, Pidge. It's almost like you're a vampire," joked Ezor while sending the smaller girl a crooked smile. 

Pidge hissed as she opened her eyes, glaring at the four girls in her room while clutching her pillow with one hand and point accusatorially at them. "You can't just open the curtains in the morning and expect me not to get mad. Haven't you heard of the term, 'sleeping in?'" She asked crossly, pouting as the girls stared blankly at her. 

"We've never slept in. See, we have a schedule," said Acxa while pulling out her phone from her pocket, looking down and scrolling through her alarms. "First, we all wake up at six to go on our early morning jogs when the weather allows us to do so. In the winter, we basically just go to the gym at five every morning and then meet up at school. When there's no school, we wake up-"

Ezor groaned, rolling her eyes before putting a hand on her hip. "Seriously Acxa? I'm not sure Pidge wants to know what our daily routines are like. She looks horrified at the idea of having to wake up at six," she said while gesturing towards the smaller girl, who indeed looked horrified at the group. 

"What kind of punishment have you guys been given? Nobody deserves to wake up at six, especially on a weekend!" She said, obviously horrified. 

Zethrid snorted. "It's not so bad once you get used to it. Ever since we started hanging out with Lotor, we've been on strict schedules."

Pidge frowned. "Lotor gives you schedules? That's...weird."

Acxa, Ezor and Narti blinked before shooting Zethrid glares, the bigger girl shrugging. 

"What? Lotor was the one who suggested we should have alarms since we have a lot of things to do during the week."

Pidge raised a brow. "Seriously? You guys can't have that much of a busy schedule, right?"

Narti lowered her head so her bangs would fall into her eyes as she stared at Pidge creepily, her brows furrowed. "Wouldn't you love to know," was all she muttered before lifting her head and giving Pidge a small smile. Everyone looked at her with confused and terrified expressions, Narti staring blankly at them. 

"What?"

Ezor shook her head before turning towards Pidge with a small smile. "You don't really want to know about our horrible schedules, do you?"

Pidge mused over the question, pouting at she shrugged. "Shoot."

Ezor sighed, obviously not getting the answer she wanted. "Fine," she said childishly before sitting down on Pidge's bead and crossing her legs. "So basically, we have really crazy schedules that we have alarms set for everything like Acxa said. They help us stay more organized and Lotor suggested it back when he formed our little group about two years ago? When were we freshmen?"

"Three years ago, Ezor."

"Ugh, I was about to say that! Acxa let me think!"

"Sorry."

Ezor rolled her eyes, ignoring Pidge's pointed look and observant eyes looking between her and Acxa. "Anyways," she said, clearing her throat so Acxa or the others wouldn't interrupt again. "Lotor suggested this ideas because we were all so busy that we barely had time to do our homework and sleep. It was so intense, and there was so many things that each of us were in that alarms really helped."

Pidge blinked. "Alarms are the spawns of Satan."

Acxa sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "Look, alarms aren't for everyone, we get it. We aren't forcing you to use them, but merely suggesting it. You are busy with all the prom planning and robotics club," she said. 

Ezor felt a pang if guilt in her chest as she faked a grin and leaned forward, sticking her face closer to Pidge's. "Speaking of prom," she sing sang while winking at Pidge. Pidge snorted, sitting up straighter. 

"What about it?"

Ezor shrugged innocently, grinning at Pidge. "There's rumors that you're choosing who gets to be prom queen and king. Not to be that person, but, you should totally vote for me as prom queen," said Ezor while winking at Pidge. 

Pidge snorted. "Ezor, we both know I can't make you win. Besides, everyone has to vote for who they want, not just the prom committee."

"You also have to be really popular to even be considered as prom queen. We've barely attended this high school for a year," said Zethrid while looking at Ezor. Ezor sighed, pouting as she turned her head away. 

"You didn't have to burst my bubble like that," she replied childishly. Pidge sent her a crooked smile, patting her arm with her hand sympathetically. 

"It's okay Ezor." 

Ezor remained pouting before brightening up as she grinned at Pidge. "So. Do you have any plans for prom?" She asked while wiggling her brows in a teasing way. Pidge flushed red and shook her head, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. 

"Not really? I have to go because I'm on the prom committee, but I don't have anyone to go with."

"You could go with Lotor," suggested Acxa suddenly from her place by the window. The girls all looked up at her, and Acxa briefly saw the pain in Ezor's eyes upon the mention of his name. 

Pidge blinked, raising a brow. "Lotor? Why him?"

Acxa shrugged. "He's a good person with good intentions. He's also a gentleman, which is good at events like prom. Besides, he's taken a liking to you. I wouldn't be so surprised if he asked you out to prom," she said while throwing the girl a wink. 

Pidge wrinkled her nose. "But I don't really see Lotor in that way," she confessed as she ran a hand through her messy hair. 

Ezor frowned. "Well he likes you. A lot, I might add. Maybe-"

"But you don't have to go with him if you don't want to," interrupted Acxa quickly, successfully cutting Ezor off before she could finish. 

Pidge looked between Ezor and Acxa, the room suddenly cold as she saw the intense gazes they were throwing at each other. It was an entire conversation with their eyes, with Ezor glaring almost in absolute hatred at Acxa while Acxa's frown remained on her face, unmoving. 

Zethrid awkwardly coughed, the two blinking before Ezor swiveled her head away from Acxa. Pidge shot Zethrid a concerned look, Zethrid shaking her head while Narti just frowned. 

"Anyways!" Said Ezor as she suddenly sprang back to life, "Maybe you should talk to Lotor more. You two might suddenly hit it off. Besides," she added while sneakily glancing over at Acxa with a hurt look," he's probably going to accept you and not say that he likes someone else unlike a few people I can name," she added coldly. 

Acxa's frown deepened as she turned her head around, away from Pidge's confused gaze. Pidge slowly understood what Ezor meant and she frowned, rubbing her arms as if the room was too cold. 

"I guess I'll give it a try. At least I'd have a chance for a relationship, unlike I would with...certain people," she added bitterly while glancing back at Keith's window. Acxa bit the inside of her lip, wanting to say something, anything, but not being able to. She desperately wanted to scream for Pidge to stay away from Lotor; to run away to people who would actually treat her right. 

But she couldn't, because Lotor had promised hell for all of them if they so much dares to breath a word of their plan to her before she was too invested to back out. She hated it. She hated how quickly she had become to this girl who just wanted to be loved and accepted. She hated how they were using her. She hated it. 

"That's the spirit!" Said Ezor in a cheerful manner. "In the meanwhile," she said as she looked to her left and her right as if she was being watched before whispering into Pidge's ear, "why don't we go to the movies after breakfast and then go out for lunch before glamming up for the party tonight? It's a great night for single people to mingle, like me," she said while winking at Pidge before doing the same to Zethrid and Narti. 

Zethrid snorted. "Please, the only people going are cheerleaders and jocks that we don't even know. I need someone more intense, someone who can tolerate me," she said while crossing her arms. Narti shook her head and peered up at Zethrid through her bangs. 

"You're extra as fuck so I don't think you'll find anyone that will fit that bill," she said with sincerity in her voice. Pidge snickered and tried to hide her amusement as she put a hand up to her hand, Ezor just shaking her head. 

"Narti, you don't have to be so cruel."

Narti just shrugged before taking a sip from her water bottle, eyeing the girls while Zethrid was comforted by Ezor. 

"Don't worry Zethrid; you're a beautiful girl and it's only natural that the guys and girls won't talk to you. They're obviously scared to approach you because of your killer good looks," said Ezor reassuringly. Zethrid raised a brow. 

"In case you didn't realize, I'm hella lesbian so I don't want guys to look at me."

Ezor grinned. "Whoops. But yeah, you can totally get a girlfriend if you put your mind up to it. But make sure she actually likes you back, or you'll be the one that ends up-"

"Pidge, can I use your bathroom?" Asked Acxa loudly, once again successfully cutting Ezor off. Ezor glared at her before turning in the other direction, rapidly talking to Zethrid as she ignored Acxa. Pidge frowned, hesitantly getting up and walking towards the door as she put on one of Keith's hoodies. 

"Sure. Follow me."

The walk to the bathroom down the hall was awkward as hell with Acxa's hand clenching and unclenching rapidly. Pidge coughed, rapidly looking in the opposite direction before popping the question. 

"So what's up with you and Ezor?"

Acxa kept walking, a small scoff escaping her mouth. "Is it that obvious?"

Pidge nodded. "Yeah. So what's up?"

Acxa sighed. "You probably know how Ezor said she liked me right?"

Pidge's eyes widened. "Holy shit she did it."

Acxa nodded, a ghost of a smile on her face. "Yeah, she did. Asked me to go out, and I said yes. It was all fine..." Her smile dropped as she crossed her arms. "It was all fine until L- my parents found out last night. They prohibited us to date and Ezor basically said that I shouldn't be affected by it and if I truly loved her I would tell my parents to back off. But I can't do that; I can't just say no because I'm scared of the consequences. So I told the lie that I didn't love her, and left her."

"Wait you dumped her?" Asked Pidge incredulously as she looked at Acxa, who was furiously clenching and unclenching her hand. 

"Yes."

Pidge frowned. "Acxa, no offense but the both of you are very wrong here."

Acxa raised her head, frowning as she stared at the younger girl in front of her. "How would you know that? You haven't even had a relationship," she said before realizing what she said and snapping her mouth shut. "Sorry."

Pidge shook her head. "I don't care that you insulted me, because I know that I know what I'm talking about."

Acxa glanced back at the room before glancing at Pidge. "Fine."

"Thank you. Now like I was saying, you and Ezor are both wrong here. She's wrong because she's saying that you have to disobey your parents if you love her when if she truly loved you she would understand that you can't right now. And you're wrong for just dumping her without an explanation and covering it up with a lie that you don't love her when you know damn well that you do," she said accusingly while pointing an aggressive finger in Acxa's face. 

Acxa blinked before turning her head away, frowning. "I know it's wrong but she just won't understand if I tell her the truth."

Pidge shook her head. "No, you have to tell her today. Today is the party and you can't go to a party all mad at one of your friends and possible soulmate. That's just stupid, so you say sorry or I'll be the mad one."

Acxa sighed. "No promises," she said finally after a few seconds. Pidge smiled. 

"Thank you. Now let's go back, we've been at the 'bathroom' way too long."

Acxa gave her a small smile before making her way back down towards Pidge's room, internally screaming at what she had told Pidge. See, the true reason why she and Ezor were so off was the fact that Lotor was the one who found out about their relationship and in turn, had prohibited dating for them as long as they were helping him. The week was then full of arguments between the two, the one where Ezor demanded that Acxa stop Lotor's ploy being the straw that broke the camels back. 

Ezor has demanded for her to end Lotor's ploy, saying that if Acxa truly loved her she would stop it so nothing bad would happen. But Acxa couldn't, because she knew just how dangerous Lotor was. So she said no, and that she could care less because she didn't love Ezor. What followed next was a week of avoiding each other unless necessary and acting cheerful in front of Lotor's eyes, which was killing her inside. But she could never tell that to Pidge, so she spun a lie. 

It was eating her alive. 

Pidge turned the doorknob and the two walked inside, Pidge confused as she saw Zethrid throwing rocks out the window. 

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to hit your neighbors cat," replied Zethrid while throwing more rocks out the window. Pidge looked at her in alarm before swiping the table clear of the rocks, closing the window in the process. 

"Yeah we can't just murder the strays out here," said said upon seeing how Zethrid looked at her as if insulted. 

Zethrid grunted. "Not my fault they feel like they own the place. No offense, Narti."

Narti shook her head. "Kova is disappointed," she said as she opened her purse to show how Kova was looking at Zethrid with gleaming eyes. Zethrid flinched, slowly moving away from the window. 

"My bad."

Ezor snickered. "Narti, do you seriously bring Kova everywhere?"

Narti nodded solemnly before allowing Kova to jump on her lap, Kova looking up at Pidge with an intense glare before jumping up on Narti's shoulder. 

Pidge shivered. "It felt like your cat looked into my soul."

Narti smiled. "Almost like an all seeing cat.

Ezor frowned. "But this isn't a magic tv show where Kova would be an all seeing cat, Narti."

Narti shrugged, the tense atmosphere returning again before Pidge coughed. All four turned their attention towards her, looking confused.

"So the movies, right?"

They all sighed in relief before Acxa sent her a thankful look. "Yes, right. The movies. What movie would you like to see?"

Pidge shrugged. "Any movie is fine, really."

Ezor grinned. "The movie is only part of our plan, anyways. Today, we're going to give you a makeover that will leave every boy drooling!"

Pidge winced at that, Acxa noticing and placing a hand on her shoulder. 

"Not drooling over you, but you'll knock them dead off their feet. Not like you don't do it already, but you'll be extra cuter than before." 

Pidge blinked before nodding. "Yeah that sounds better."

Ezor grinned. "Great! See you in the car!" She took the car keys from where Kova was playing with them and sauntered out the door, seemingly almost relieved at the prospect of getting out of there. 

Zethrid whistled. "Wow Acxa, I didn't know you could make her that mad."

Acxa scowled. "Look, it wasn't my fault, okay? I just...things are rough right now, okay?"

Zethrid snorted. "I'll say. You better patch that up because Lotor is going to pick up on it sooner or later."

Acxa glared at her. "I'm aware."

Pidge coughed, making the two look at her as if they suddenly remembered that she was in the room with them. 

"Can you get out? I have to change," she said almost sheepishly. Acxa and Zethrid both blinked before nodding and walking out, Narti following them with Kova in her arms. 

Pidge sighed. At the rate that all drama was rising, she was going to get caught in between it sooner or later. She could just hope for the months leading up to graduation to be drama free.

* * *

The movie trip was horrible, in Pidge's opinion. 

Ezor and Acxa sat as far away from the other as possible, leaving Pidge, Narti and Zethrid to be in the middle. Ezor kept side eyeing Acxa with a frown and a glare, Acxa never looking at her and feigning interest in the movie. 

Narti would occasionally cough awkwardly, Pidge just awkwardly ignoring them while continuously stuffing her face with popcorn so that Ezor or Acxa wouldn't talk to her. Zethrid took long slurps of her drink every time Ezor would open her mouth to talk, causing her to glare and pout before eventually sitting back down. 

In the end, she decided that those were the worst two hours she had spent at a movie theater. Never before had she been so thankful to leave a place. Well, except for that one time when Keith almost died after choking on a popcorn kernel at the movies when the duo was ten. But so far, this movie trip took the cake.

Pidge paused outside the movie theater, stretching her arms up into the sky as far as she could before cracking her neck, grinning satisfactorily upon hearing the crack. The four girls behind her cringed, Ezor recovering first before hesitantly walking over towards her. 

"So does that hurt?"

Pidge blinked before shaking g her head. "No, not really. Cracking bones doesn't hurt unless it's popping an arm out of its socket."

Zethrid cringed. "Lotor did that once after some drunk during a party cuffed him to a table leg. He popped his arms out of their sockets and popped them back in after somehow getting out of that situation. It was so horrible," she said, recalling how disgusted she had been when she heard the bones crack. 

Pidge winced. "Ow. But weren't you there to help him if you heard the cracks?" Asked Pidge while looking at Zethrid curiously. Ezor scoffed and crossed her arms. 

"If you mean being locked in a bathroom, then yeah, we were there."

Pidge snorted before she started to walk towards the parking lot. "You were stuck in a bathroom?"

Acxa shrugged before she and the other started walking after Pidge. "We were drunk," she replied flatly while looking off to the side indifferently. 

Narti smirked. "Already drunk and only at seventeen."

Pidge stopped walking ahead, turning around to look at them quizzically. "Seventeen? Wait, how old are you?"

Acxa raised a brow. "I'm eighteen, Narti is eighteen and Zethrid is eighteen and Ezor is the seventeen year old," she said cautiously when mentioning Ezor's name. 

Ezor rolled her eyes and put her right hand on her hip, casting an annoyed look towards the left. "Yeah well, being seventeen doesn't mean I don't get some," she said before smirking and resting her head on Pidge's shoulder, grabbing her shoulders with her hands. "It's a great experience," she said in a low voice before Pidge snorted. 

"Yeah I imagine it to be."

Zethrid groaned. "Ezor, you've only dated two people for more than a month. Are you telling me that you did that with all of your less than one month boyfriends?"

"No it was with the two people," she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Zethrid shook her head. 

"So Nyma and then the guy she's dating now?"

"Rolo?" Asked Pidge incredulously as she looked at Ezor. "Seriously?"

Ezor snorted. "Hey, they are some of the hottest people in the school. Well, other than that after school robotics teacher. He's so..."

"Dreamy?" Finished Narti with a raised brow as she continued walking, causing the other to follow her lead. 

Ezor sighed dreamily while still resting her head on Pidge's shoulder. "Yeah. Dreamy. I'm going to call him McDreamy."

"And Rolo is McSteamy?"

"Oh hell yeah."

Acxa coughed before unlocking the car, getting into the drivers seat while Pidge jumped in next to her. Ezor, Narti and Zethrid both hopped inside the back, Zethrid and Ezor arguing about who was more dreamy than the other. 

Pidge groaned. "That's so disgusting," she said while sticking her tongue out. Acxa hummed in agreement.

"Agreed."

Pidge raised a brow. "I thought you would agree with them?"

Acxa pursed her lips, starting the car up as her brows furrowed in concentration. "No, not really. My taste in partners isn't based on how they look."

Pidge smiled. "Same. I just like boys who would understand me for who I am and would stick through the bullshit I would pull because I am no saint," she added while remembering the countless times Keith had stuck with her through the past ten years, despite all the bullshit that the two had gone through as friends. The countless nights they spent screaming at each other would always be resolved in the morning with an apology and cookies, because they hated being angry with the other. That just wasn't how they were. 

Acxa nodded, a ghost of a smile on her face as she exited the parking lot. "Me too. I think I just want someone who will love me for who I am who I can love equally back."

Pidge smiled, putting a reassuring hand on her arm. "You'll find that person one day," she said sincerely. Acxa smiled, nodding before turning her attention back towards the road. Her insides were screaming. She wanted to scream again, to tell Pidge off once and for all because she was making her stone cold heart all soft. 

This was the worst shit she had to experience. 

The duo didn't notice how the three in the back had stopped chattering to look at the two in the front, especially Ezor who looked at Acxa in confusion before frowning and turning to look out the window with an obvious hurt look. 

The ride home was mostly silent, the only noise being the radio playing softly in the background. It was only two in the afternoon and Pidge already wanted the day to be over.

After some driving, Acxa eventually pulled up in front of an unfamiliar looking house. Pidge looked out the window, raising a curious brow upon hearing how Ezor grunted in annoyance. 

"Why."

Acxa rolled her eyes and shot Pidge a small smile before getting out of the car, Narti also getting out. Zethrid followed after Narti, looking back to see Ezor pouting. 

"Come on Ezor."

"I'll get out eventually."

Zethrid shook her head before turning towards the house, grinning when she saw Acxa's mom standing at the door with a plate of cookies. Pidge immediately unbuckled her seatbelt and ran out of the car, following Acxa while Ezor eyed her. 

"Don't take the cookies, Zethrid. They're a trap," said Ezor while looking at Acxa with a weary face. Zethrid sighed and rolled her eyes. 

"Just because you're fighting with Acxa doesn't mean you have to loop us all into it," she said pointedly before getting out of the car and walking up towards Acxa. Ezor frowned before making an indignant noise and getting out. 

Acxa's mom smiled as she saw Ezor, Pidge looking rapidly between the two. Acxa noticed and shook her head, leaning down to whisper into the girl's ear. 

"My mother is good at hiding things. Don't try and look for any breakup indications."

Pidge slowly nodded as she regained her composure, smiling politely as Acxa's mom gave Ezor a quick hug, Ezor tending up before quietly hugging her back and hastily letting go. She stood next to Narti, the girl giving Ezor a side eyed look. 

"Well Acxa, you know the rules. You can get ready for the party, but not-"

"Not over exaggerate the revealing clothes, I get it. It's not like I like wearing revealing things," she added sourly. Ezor licked her lips, looking to the side where Narti had a huge smirk in her face as she looked at Ezor with a smug look. 

Acxa's mother sighed and nodded, patting her shoulder. "I know you don't. But one can never be too sure. Also, who's this new pretty addition to your group?" She asked while looking at Pidge with a curious look. 

Pidge  smiled, waving at her. "Hi."

Acxa grabbed her by the shoulders, gesturing towards her mom. "Mom, this is Katie. She's a...friend," she said while forcing a small smile to her lips upon seeing a smile appear on Pidge's face as her face lit up upon being called Acxa's 'friend.' 

Her mother smiled and patted Pidge's head affectionately. "She's a cute one. On another note, I have to leave you alone tonight again."

Acxa frowned. "Another late night shift?"

Her mother nodded. "Bills don't pay for themselves, you know. Any who, I'll see you when I get back. If you get home early from the party, I left some leftover lasagna in the oven. Or for lunch. Either is fine." Kissing Acxa's cheek, she waved at the girls before heading to her car, leaving the group on the front steps. 

Zethrid raised a brow. "So what are we going to do?"

Acxa shrugged, pushing the door open before stepping inside. "I don't know."

Ezor sighed as she leaned against the wall, inspecting the tips of her hair in a bored manner. "Don't you have some games or whatever in your basement?" She asked, a name not being mentioned but they all knew who it was aimed at. 

Narti blinked. "Oh yes. I forgot about the game room."

Acxa let out a low sigh, motioning for them to follow her into the dining room. "Do you want lunch?" She asked nobody in particular, the question hanging in the air as the girls looked at each other. 

"I'm pretty sure we're all full from the popcorn and junk food," said Pidge to clear the atmosphere. Acxa nodded and once again motioned for them to follow her, this time to the back of the house where there was a room set up with many games. 

In the closet, there were boxes of board games piled up neatly on top of one another, some looking old and others new. There was a twister mat on the ground, the spinner on top of it in the center. Against a wall, there was a couch that could fit five and directly across from it on the opposite wall, there was a huge flat screen TV that was hooked up to a game console. 

Pidge whistled, in awe of how amazing Acxa's house was. "Damn. This is a dream come true," she muttered while walking over towards the couch and plopping in the middle of it. Zethrid and Ezor exchanges looks before sitting down next to her, Acxa sitting on one corner with Ezor on the other. 

"Is it?" Asked Acxa. "We rarely use it. It's only of use when family comes over," she said. _And when you want to hide in the closet to do shit when pesky family members won't give you any privacy in your room,_ she added in her mind, her cheeks heating up as she remembered how she and Ezor had hid in the closet a week ago after Ezor had come over to 'study' and they had ended up in the closet with Ezor's shirt halfway up her chest and Acxa's normally pinned up hair all loose and cascading down her back. 

Ezor cheeks had equally flushed, and Narti coughed before shoving Zethrid. 

"Ow! What?!" She asked, glaring at Narti. Narti motioned at Acxa and Ezor, Zethrid understating and gagging, causing the two to just get more pink. Pidge coughed and stretched her legs out, not wanting to poke into Acxa and Ezor's personal lives. 

"So are we going to play twister or not?"

Acxa blinked and slowly, her flushed face disappeared and returned to its regular shade. "You want to play Twister?"

Zethrid and Narti cheered, the two reaching over to pat Pidge's shoulder. 

Pidge shrugged. "Sure. We need to kill time before we get ready for the party. It's at seven, right?"

Ezor nodded, grinning. "Yep! And we need to start heading to each of our houses at five to pick up our junk and get ready at your house because it's the closest to Lotor's."

"Oh. Okay, I guess we can get ready at my house. But we don't need to wear dresses, right?"

"Only if you're a slut or a cheerleader," came Zethrid's short reply. Narti snickered, covering her mouth with a hand to hide her amusement. Acxa tried to hide her amusement but failed, snickering into the palm of her hand while glancing at Zethrid in amusement. 

Pidge sighed, relieved. "Glad I don't have to wear a dress then," she said while grinning upon seeing how Zethrid burst out laughing, causing Acxa to chuckle and Narti to allow her smile to show more. Ezor sighed, biting my her bottom lip to hide her amusement. 

"Ha ha very funny, Zethrid. But seriously Pidge, we have like two hours with nothing to do and you're suggesting we play Twister?"

Pidge shrugged. "Got a better idea?"

Zethrid nodded. "Yeah, I got one. Sleep."

Pidge raised a brow, considering it. "That might just work," she said while grinning and starting to lower down into her seat. The girls cringed at how she slouched, wondering how her spine hadn't cracked yet. 

"On second thought, why don't we play Twister?" Said Ezor quickly before pulling Pidge up. Acxa breathed a sigh of relief, crossing her arms as she followed the others towards the Twister mat. Upon seeing Pidge's devilish look, she knew the girl was going to do something.

* * *

Sure enough, something did happen. Acxa didn't know if it was just karma getting back at her or if Pidge hated her, but she decided that bother of the options were a possibility as she found herself being the one with the most limbs intertwined with Ezor's. 

Ezor's face was pink as she felt Acxa's leg pass over her own, looking down, determined to not let anyone see how pink she was. 

"Okay Acxa, right hand on red!"

Acxa grunted before moving her right hand, placing it on the spot directly under Ezor. Ezor made a sound of dismay, causing Acxa to roll her eyes and Zethrid to cackle. 

"Ezor, liking the view?"

Acxa scowled And felt her cheeks heat up, ignoring the way Ezor glared heavily at Zethrid. 

"Please shut your mouth."

"I'm not sure I can," said Zethrid cockily while Narti chuckled lowly from beside her, Kova on her lap while Pidge grinned as she read out the moves. 

"Ezor, left foot on blue!"

Ezor groaned as she moved her left leg, dismayed upon seeing how far she had to stretch. Wincing as she did, she managed to land the tip of her toe on the blue spot while glaring at Acxa's leg. 

"Why couldn't you put your foot higher? You're causing my back to strain," she said, ignoring Acxa's shocked look. 

"Why can't you actually stretch so we don't have to have this fight again?"

"Ezor, left hand on green!"

Ezor growled as she did so, trying to knock over Acxa's hand and grinning when the girl faltered for a moment before getting a better grip and glaring at Ezor. 

"Oops."

"Acxa, left foot on yellow!"

Acxa glared and purposely shifted her foot so that it would brush harshly against Ezor's leg on blue, causing her to make an alarmed face as she almost let go, making sure her foot stayed on blue. 

"You jackass!" She cried, secretly laughing inside at how they were arguing over another dumb little thing. Acxa shrugged, hiding her face so Ezor and the others wouldn't see her smile. 

Pidge grinned, causing Zethrid to pat her on the back. 

"You're doing a good job at bringing them back together." 

"Oh, is that what I'm doing? I didn't know," she said in a hidden amusement while smirking. She and Zethrid fist bumped, Narti grinning and peering up at Acxa and Ezor, who were smiling in the opposite direction from the others. 

Pidge continued calling out names until Ezor managed to get Acxa to fall, the girl landing with a thud, but not before managing to pull Ezor's hair, causing the two to collapse on top of each other. The room fell into silence, before Acxa started snorting with laughter, Ezor becoming infected by Acxa's laughter, causing her to giggle too. Zethrid and Narti both started laughing too, causing Pidge to laugh as they all just kept laughing. 

Ezor offered a hand to help Acxa up, Acxa blinking before accepting it and standing up, letting go hesitantly and crossing her arms. Ezor maintained a smile on her face, putting a hand on her hip as she looked at Pidge. 

"That was seriously one of the best moments we've ever had playing Twister. When Lotor plays it, he ends up winning and we all end up as sore losers," she said, smiling at the memory before chuckling. Pidge crossed her legs, putting her arms on ten before leaning her head on her arms. 

"You guys seem to be close with Lotor."

Acxa sighed softly and smiled softly, nodding her head. "Lotor took us under his wing the summer after freshman year. He started hanging out with us during the last weeks of freshman year, but he hung out with us over the summer."

Ezor grinned. "We got summer makeovers," she said while reliving the moment. 

Zethrid smiled softly, laying on the floor. "Lotor gave us a newfound sense of confidence. We uh, never really fit in back before we met him," she said while looking quickly to the side. 

Pidge frowned, raising a curious brow. "Really? I thought that you guys would've fit in. You guys are literally the definition of a girl power group."

Narti shook her head. "We were the quiet, antisocial girls. Well, I was."

Zethrid nodded. "Yeah, Acxa was the nerdy one who was taking chemistry during her freshman year and the one who always raised her hand and got hundreds on tests."

Acxa frowned. "I still get hundreds, but back then the bullying was excessive because I was the one who didn't give anyone answers and wore glasses and had that shy, antisocial personality. People ignored me and when they noticed me it was just for their best interest. My clothes wasn't amazing because I didn't like to dress up like them, and I got bullied for that too," she added sorrowfully while crossing her arms. Ezor frowned, quickly glancing at Acxa before starting to speak. 

"I was the one who was deemed to be mentally insane and bipolar because one day I'd be so cheery and optimistic and the next I'd be threatening kids and thinking about suicide," she said while rubbing her arms. "My parents weren't financially stable, and I couldn't help them. My mom was sick and my dad's work didn't pay well, so everything was just so bad for us," she said while shuddering. "Then Lotor came in with Acxa, and we got close. Lotor sort of helped a lot with my parents financial struggles by donating money for my mom's chemo treatments at the hospital. She got better and now everything is just better," she said while smiling. 

Zethrid frowned. "I was the girl who everyone stayed from because I was 'too fat' and 'too dangerous' to be around. Nobody stayed or even tried to know me because of how I looked. It was really bad and I got so mad over it because all I wanted was to be accepted," she muttered quietly while crossing her arms and closing her eyes. 

Narti frowned too, lowering her head. "I was the one who was a social outcast because I didn't speak, so everyone thought I was mute. I had glasses for my bad eyesight, and with my thick bangs everyone made fun of me for it. My locker was often vandalized and I got those comments that I was living in the past and probably lived in a box because my clothing was so bad," she said while looking at the side. 

Acxa cleared her throat, getting ready to speak. "I think what we're trying to say is that we were really badly off before Lotor came. He encouraged me to speak out more and taught me how to block out the crude comments everyone was making about me and officially pulled me under his wing one day and after that everyone just respected me. It was all I had ever wanted," she said softly. 

Zethrid nodded. "Yeah. We might get into fights with Lotor sometimes, but it's because we think differently. At the end of the day, we forgive each other and he understands why my temper is so off. He helped me understand that I was great the way I was and that everyone has their issues, wether it be emotional or physical, and that we shouldn't care about what others say because they weren't me, so they didn't know what I was feeling. I joined his group after Acxa and Ezor were there, and we all just clicked. Then Narti came in, and the rest is history."

Narti allowed a small smile to appear on her face as she glanced up at Zethrid. "You were annoying the first day we met," she declared, causing Zethrid to chuckle sheepishly. 

Pidge raised a brow. "What did she do?"

"She threw a basketball at my head the period before we were formally introduced by Lotor. Lotor introduced us and she immediately choked on her water."

Zethrid pouted. "Hey! I didn't know you were going to end up being one of my best friends!"

Narti snorted. "I can see that. But like Acxa said, Lotor helped us all out and now we're us."

Pidge smiled. "Lotor sounds like a great dude," she said in admiration. Acxa exchanged a quick look with Zethrid and bit her lip, frowning. 

Ezor cleared her throat, wiping a stray tear that head slid down her cheek. "Y-yeah he is. On a totally unrelated note, how about we take a nap or something? You know, just to kill the extra hour we have."

Pidge shrugged. "Sounds great to me." She plopped on the floor, letting her hair fall into her face as she closed her eyes. She stayed like that for five minutes, trying not to laugh at how the girls were talking with concern laced in their tones about her. 

She eventually did drift off to sleep, being shoved away sometime later by Zethrid. 

"Why."

Zethrid shushed her and pulled her to her feet, motioning towards the kitchen. "Acxa and Ezor left a while ago and someone's crying."

Pidge blinked and all her sleepiness went away as she walked towards the kitchen, inching her way closer to the entrance to hear what was being said. 

"-and I don't want to fight with you anymore. I know what I did was horrible, but you knew why I had to do it."

"You should've explained it to me earlier instead of just dumping me like that," sniffled Ezor as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Acxa sighed and took Ezor's hand in her own. 

"I know, and I'm sorry. But I need you understand."

"I understand now. You don't know how hurt I was that day that you said you didn't..." She trailed off before being able to continue her sentence, biting her lip. 

Acxa lifted her chin up with her finger, looking at her softly. "You know I wouldn't do that. I had me reasons, and I'll admit that I was a coward and dumb but I'll always love you. I've been in love with you since sophomore year, Ezor."

Ezor sniffled again and pulled Acxa into a hug, clutching onto her as if she was a life line. "Idiot. I've been in love with you since I met you." The two smiled and hugged each other tightly, the embrace feeling so right. 

Pidge sighed in relief from the other side of the wall, inching back towards the back room and sitting on the couch. Zethrid peered up from where she and Narti were playing Battleship, obviously awaiting details. 

"Did they make up? Or do I have to punch some sense into them?"

Pidge sighed in relief, smiling. "I think they'll be okay." Zethrid nodded, obviously satisfied before turning towards the game and her mouth going shape. 

"Narti!"

Narti just smirked, Kova doing the same before the two jumped at the sound of a loud ringtone. Zethrid winced and Pidge groaned, rummaging through her jacket packet and fishing out her phone. 

_Emo For Beebo is calling..._

Pidge sighed and accepted the call before putting her phone up to her ear. Bad idea seeing as to how the voice on the other end stared screaming. 

_"KATHERINE PIDGE HOLT WHERE ARE YOU? YOU HAVEN'T BEEN HOME SINCE EIGHT AND YOU'RE NEVER UP AT EIGHT! PRICK I WAS WORRIED WHEN YOU DIDN'T PICK UP A WHILE AGO!"_

Pidge rolled her eyes. "And hello to you too, Matt. Also, give Keith back his phone. I can feel his eyes staring into your soul."

_"...damn you're right. Sorry Keith. I'm so sorry you have to put up with her the rest of your life-"_

"MATT!" Said Pidge, a blush creeping into her face as she all but screeched his name. Matt cackled before a loud thud was heard, followed by a string of curses and then by a familiar snicker. Pidge grinned. 

"Hey Keith."

_"So you live. What a shame."_

"Hey, you know if I was really dead you'd be crying your eyes out. You didn't even last a day without me," she said smugly. 

_"That doesn't prove anything! You know what? I'll just pass the phone back to Matt-"_

"Giving your own phone to Matt? That's one of the most stupidest things I've ever heard come out of your mouth," said Pidge with a tinge of amusement in her eyes. 

_"I hate when you're right."_

"No you don't. Also, don't wait for me tonight, I'm going to a party."

_"You? Going out? And to a party? You never go to any parties- Lance, get out of my face!"_

_"PIDGE TAKE ME TO THE PARTY I'VE BEEN STUCK PLAYING BOARD GAMES ALL AFTERNOON!"_

"Which I'm assuming is for two hours because during thanksgiving you all sleep until three and it's five now," Pidge said dryly. She hard Lance gasp and Shiro laugh in the background, followed by Allura screaming and flipping something over. 

"And I'm also assuming Allura just lost at Monopoly."

_"No what- HEY KEITH NO GIVE IT!"_

_"Shut up Lance. Pidge, if you're going to a party we have to know where, you know, for reasons."_

"What a stalker," she muttered with a fond amusement before sighing. "Don't get mad."

_"Please don't tell me it's with Lotor.”_

"You're right, it's with Acxa."

_”Son of a bitch." "Language, Keith!"_

Pidge snorted. "Relax, Keith. You know that I always get home before eleven anyways."

_"But that's because Shiro is with us!"_

"Blah blah, I'll be okay, seriously. It's one party, and you know I don't drink. Besides, my mom said it was a good idea for me to go out so she's letting me. She trusts Lotor."

_”That doesn't mean we do. And we need you not hungover tomorrow so we can work on Voltron!"_

"I'll be sober you idiot, I never drink. Besides, I'm not even legal to do that," she said while picking at some lint on the floor. 

She heard Keith sigh. _"Fine. But if you're not home at eleven we're going to get you. Just in case, you know?"_

She smiled fondly. "Yeah I know. Don't worry, dude. I'll be back and ready to do all the work tomorrow."

 _"Whatever, short stuff. See you later,"_ said Keith before hanging up on Pidge. Pidge sighed, throwing her phone next to her on the floor. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, opening one when Zethrid coughed. 

"So who exactly is Keith?"

Pidge snorted. "My pesky neighbor. He's the boy next door who's annoyed me since I was little all the way until now."

Acxa raised a brow from her position at the doorway. "It sounds like he doesn't just annoy you anymore. It sounds like you might have a thing for him," she said while raising a brow. 

Pidge blinked before flushing pink, looking quickly down at the floor with a small smile on her face. "Fuck it," she muttered softly. 

Zethrid looked up from her side of the game, looking at Pidge curiously. "You like him?"

Ezor waved a hand. "Hold up for just a second. You like that black haired boy that looks like he could cut you with his glare?"

Pidge nodded. "Yup."

Acxa and Ezor exchanged looks, looking towards Narti, who just scored closer to Pidge. 

"Dating?"

Pidge barked out a laugh, chuckling in a pessimistic manner. "In my dreams maybe. Keith...I'm not even sure he sees me as a girl. Is like I'm not even a girl I'm his eyes; like I'm a kid sister. Honestly," she said quietly, "if Keith hasn't made a move for the past year where we were both allowed to date, then he probably likes someone else. Probably someone prettier."

Acxa frowned, crossing her arms. "You're pretty. Don't sell yourself short, Pidge. He's probably too scared to say something."

Pidge shook her head. "No. I know he doesn't like me. And I've decided to move onto someone else for now."

"Lotor," breathed out Ezor with wide eyes. Pidge nodded and gave the group a weak smile. 

"About time for me to move on, don't you think?"

Ezor swallowed her saliva and sent Pidge a shaky smile, nodding enthusiastically. "Yeah! Totally! Uh, are you sure?"

Pidge nodded firmly. "Yeah. Also, we're going to be late. Let's go!" She said, pulling Ezor along, avoiding the topic as they ran along towards the car. She didn't want to see their shocked faces, didn't want to see how they were judging her. She just wanted to move on and avoid falling even more for Keith. So that's what she was going to do.

* * *

Keith peeked out his window upon hearing laughter, Lance and Hunk peering over his head. They looked into Pidge's room, where Ezor was applying eyeliner to the girls face. 

"Hold still!" She said, smirking as she applied it onto the smaller girl's face. Pidge snorted, sitting still for only a while before Ezor leaned back. 

"Am I free now?"

Ezor sighed. "Yeah yeah, you're 'free.'' Pidge mock saluted her before looking out the window and rolling her eyes upon seeing how quickly Lance, Hunk and Matt looked away. 

"I can see you guys."

Keith waved in response, Matt popping up from behind him with crossed arms. 

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To a party, duh, Matt. And I'm leaving I'm exactly uh, five minutes?"

"You've been home for an hour already? How the hell is that possible?!" Asked Lance, eyeing her incredulously. Pidge snorted, leaning on her window sill. 

"It's called 'Lance doesn't pay attention so he's not aware of anything that goes on around him.' And besides, you didn't have to know that I was here or not. Shoo, we're leaving early."

Keith frowned. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Pidge looked up at him with half lidded eyes and a bored expression. "Seriously? I'm not a kid, I'll be fine. I'll be back at eleven, okay?" She waved at Keith as Ezor pulled her along, causing Matt and Keith to look after them im suspicion. The two scrambled down the stairs and peeked out the living room window as the girls all piled into the car, Pidge sitting in the front passenger seat. 

They watched the car drive off, the two eyeing it suspiciously all the way down the street. Matt looked over at Keith, who was already looking over at him. 

"Thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Spying?"

"This is why you're my future brother in law."

Keith rolled his eyes before pulling his jacket off from its place on the living room couch, tugging it on and pulling the door open, taking Shiro's keys off the hook and running towards the car. He was stopped by a hand grabbing the collar of his jacket, causing Keith to make a choking noise before turning around to see Shiro standing there with Hunk and Lance behind him. 

"You're not really going to sneak out and stalk Pidge, are you?" 

Keith looked at the door before looking back at Shiro with a sheepish smile. "Maybe?"

Shiro sighed and face palmed, Lance edging closer to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. 

"Shiro I wanna go to the party! Drive me there?"

Keith raised a brow at Lance, the other boy making a shushing motion before looking at Shiro with a pleading look. "Please? Lotor might be a jackass but his parties are so good, according to rumors. Can you take us?"

Shiro sighed again, looking at Keith, Matt and Lance's pleading faces before sighing deeper again and looking at them in exasperation. "No sneaking up on Pidge. This is her first time alone at a party, and we don't want to ruin te experience for her."

"But do we actually?" Muttered Matt, earning a glare from Shiro. Matt just shrugged, causing Keith to snicker in amusement. 

Hunk groaned as they walked towards the car, getting closer to Shiro and whispering in his ear. "Shiro, do we have to go? You know it's just because Lance wants to check up on Pidge too!"

Shiro sighed again, and ran a hand through his hair. "I know, but I don't want any of them ignoring me. They can hold grudges for way too long, and I need them to help me plan certain things along with you."

Hunk frowned. "But it's Pidge's life. Shouldn't we leave her be?"

"Hunk, this is Pidge. The girl might be sane at times, but when alone and pressured she gets like Keith and gives in. I don't want her doing something she might regret later," he said while frowning. Hunk just sighed. 

"I hope nothing happens and we can go home in peace."

Shiro nodded and smiled at him before getting into the car, starting it up and driving out of the driveway with Keith in the passenger seat and Keith, Lance and Hunk in the back seats.

* * *

Lotor's house was huge. That was the first thing that crossed Pidge's mind when they pulled up to the house in Acxa's car. 

Ezor made a face. "Ew, Galra High girls are here. They're so shady and shallow," she said while sticking her tongue out at the girls on the front lawn. 

Pidge got out of the car and followed Acxa inside, looking curiously around the house. The living room was huge and had a gigantic flat screen tv on the wall, the couches made of leather and a bookcase on the far side of the wall. Under the tv, there was a fireplace with a clock on top of it. A horde of teenagers were all crowded in the living room, some pushing the others into closets in the hallway. 

The other crowd of teens were either on the front lawn, the backyard or trying to sneak upstairs into rooms. Pidge looked around, trying to spot Lotor before feeling a hand on her shoulder. She swiveled her head around and was met face to face with Lotor, the boy smiling at her. 

"I'm glad to see that you were able to make it tonight! I must say, you are looking rather beautiful tonight," he said, flashing her his dashing, yet dangerous smile. Pidge blinked before smiling back at him, a small blush creeping onto her face. 

"Yeah well, you're not really that bad looking either," she muttered. Her eyes widened upon realizing what she said, inwardly kicking herself and screaming internally. Why the hell did I just call Lotor good looking? I'm not even sure I like him!

Lotor blinked before chuckling, smiling at her appreciatively. "My my; I didn't know you were quite the flirt."

Pidge gave him a crooked grin. "You and me both." 

Lotor chuckled again, looking around before motioning her to follow him upstairs. Pidge raised a curious brow, prompting Lotor to smile once more as they walked up the stairs. 

"I know a place where we can just talk without anyone noticing us. Join me?"

Pidge pouted, looking back at the rambunctious teenagers that were dancing to the shitty pop songs that were overplayed daily. "Aren't you afraid that someone will steal something if you're not around though?"

Lotor snorted in amusement, shaking his head. "No, not really. When people are drunk, they either make out in closets or dance until they drop. Besides," he said, starting to head up the stairs, "the girls are watching over everything, just for precautionary reasons like you mentioned before. Now, care to join me?" He said as he reached his hand out from the attic down towards her. 

Pidge looked at his outstretched hand and shook her head slightly before giving him a small smile and taking it, Lotor helping her up the thin, attic stairs before pulling them up and walking into the area illuminated by the moonlight. There was a balcony, which surprised Pidge, but this was Lotor's house and she had long ago learned that he was full of surprises. 

_Just like Keith._

Pidge bit her lip before shaking her head, causing Lotor to look at her in confusion. 

"Are you alright?"

Pidge nodded, smiling up at him. "Peachy. I just, want to know why we had to go to a private area, so to speak," she said, raising a brow. Lotor chuckled. 

"I thought you would prefer a people barren area over the over crowded living room. Was I wrong I'm assuming that?" He asked, looking at her with doubt. Pidge's insides twisted as she waved her hands frantically, desperately trying to reassure him. 

"No no, it's fine! I just wanted to know. How do you know me so well?" She questioned, looking up at him with a curious gaze. Lotor simply smiled at her calmly. 

"I've learned a thing or two about you from when we used to meet up at the library for our project. I know that you prefer to be in solitude and don't like big crowds, and I also know that you're on prom committee. But what else can you tell me? I want to know the real Katie, not just Pidge."

Pidge sighed before heading onto the balcony, Lotor following after her. She sat on the actual balcony railing while Lotor sat in a chair, Lotor looking up at her with a curious gaze. 

"Will you let me know more about you?"

Pidge smiled softly at him before sighing and looking down at her white converse, crossing her arms and letting her bangs fall into her face while her ponytail laid limp against her back. 

"When I was a kid, I was never anyone's favorite person. Everyone had best friends, and I was the one girl who always sat next to the teacher during trips because no one wanted to partner up with me. Then I met Keith, and we became so inseparable that it's crazy. He helped me become more open and less socially awkward, even if he himself is a socially awkward mess. Then we formed our little friend group, where everyone accepted me for who I was. I wasn't the lonely kid anymore, I was now the kid who felt cared for because I had friends who cared so much about me. I guess people change me whether they realize it or not when they meet me," she said, smiling fondly upon remembering the memories of her first interactions with her friends. 

Lotor smiled softly at her. "It seems like you've been changed quite a lot from what I've heard. But tell me, have you ever been in love during all your years?"

Pidge blinked before glancing behind her, her faint blush not visible in the moonlight. "Once," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Once I was in love with a beautiful boy and he still takes my breath away. But I know that he doesn't like me, and for me to keep pining even though I'm obviously more like a sibling to him is just so...stupid," she said, barking out a laugh. 

_"Pidge is like my hopeless kid sister, Lance."_

Pidge frowned upon remembering how he had told Lance once that Pidge was nothing more than a sibling to him, and how much of a sting it had left in her heart.  


* * *

_A car drove into the driveway, which was miraculously clear despite the horde of teens inside, the headlights staying on the entire time as it just stayed put in the drive way._  


* * *

Lotor frowned, taking her hand in his. "It sounds to me like you deserve someone better. Can I tell you something, Katie?"

How he said her name brought shivers down her spine.  


* * *

_Keith frowned as he looked around from inside the car, trying to spot Pidge from where he was. Shiro also looked around, Matt desperately trying to get out of the car before cursing loudly._

_"Shit! Shiro, I feel like something is so off right now and you're not letting me out of the car! My sister could be in trouble!"_

_"We can't let her see us, Matt!_  


* * *

"Go ahead," she said, looking into his dark blue, almost purple eyes with her own hazel colored eyes.

Lotor swallowed a bit of saliva before speaking up softly. "I've always had a soft spot for you, Katie. Your intellect is most fascinating, and you are a beautiful girl. You know exactly how to act in a given moment, and you're sure of who you are. I must confess that I feel like I've slowly started falling for you, Katie."

Pidge swore that her heart stopped.  


* * *

_Hunk looked around nervously, the feeling that something was going to happen soon growing intensely by the second._

_'I knew I wasn't crazy,' he said upon seeing how fidgety Matt and Keith were getting. Hell, even Lance was slowly starting to show signs of panic._

_A movement caught his gaze, and he looked up and gasped, pointing towards the upper balcony. "There!"_  


* * *

Lotor sighed, smiling once more at her, but his eyes now had a determined look in them. "I have slowly started falling for you, and I want you to give me a sign of wether I should go for it or not. So what do you say? Will you, Katherine Holt, let me into your heart to try and fix what this other boy has broken?"

Pidge swallowed her spit, her mouth going dry as she looked into his pleading eyes.  


* * *

_Keith quickly looked up, his breath catching in his throat as he saw her sitting on the balcony with Lotor too close to her for his liking. He watched as she slowly got up, panic and fear raising his chest._

_"Please, no."_  


* * *

Pidge slowly got up, walking even slower towards Lotor.

**You fool, you'll be giving up any chances with Keith for sure!**

 

_What chances? I never had any to start with._

**He'll be furious!**

_Let him. He's not the boss of me._

**You'll be giving him up forever!**

_Good._

**You’re making a bad choice!**

_No. I'm moving on._

* * *

_"What is she doing?!" Asked Keith frantically, Shiro's eyes widening as he felt his heart sink for his brother._

_"Keith, turn away."_

_"Shiro, what is she doing?! We need to get to her!" He furiously started trying to pull the car handle, growling in frustration as he was unsuccessful in opening the door._ _"Goddamn it Shiro!”_ _Hunk looked back at Matt and Lance, who were looking at Keith with worried looks on their faces. Hunk looked up, and his heart sunk like Shiro's upon seeing how Pidge was so close to Lotor._

_Keith growled again before looking up, Hunk trying to distract him but failing. Keith's eyes widened as he saw Pidge kissing Lotor, his heart sinking to the lowest part of his body. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't do anything. He was immobilized, unable to speak or do anything except watch Pidge kiss Lotor, feeling his heart breaking into thousands of pieces._

_He was too goddamn late once again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of arc one! I'm so sorry this part came out so late, but hey, it's long and a fitting end to the first arc if I do say so myself. Poor Keith, my heart aches for my boy. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and see you next chapter where we start the second arc of this story! Thank you for reading, and peace out for now my lovelies. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving for all of you who celebrate it!


	17. I Did Something Bad

The next day felt like total hell for Keith.

His eyes were red, and not from crying, but because he had stayed up into the early hours of the morning replaying that one scene in his mind. All he could see every time he shut his eyes was the image of Pidge and Lotor kissing, and it hurt him to think about it. What pained him most, though, was the fact that Pidge was the one who initiated the kiss. It felt like stab in the back coming from her, but he knew he had no right to feel that way.

She was never his to begin with, anyways.

His Saturday morning was spent blasting Hamilton through his headphones at six in the morning after getting about two hours of sleep. Pidge didn't get home until almost one, Lotor's girl gang dropping her off before driving off into the night. She looked okay, but exhausted at the same time. Keith had looked at her through his curtains, biting his lip before turning around and collapsing into his bed.

He had only gotten a grand total of three hours of sleep. It was so going to bite him in the ass when they had to meet up at Lance's house to continue working on Voltron. The science fair was, after all, only a few months away.

Keith was just exhausted, both mentally and physically. Mentally because he had to prepare himself for trying to act like he always did around Pidge to not arouse suspicion and physically because, well, he was running on five cups of coffee after three hours of sleep. He could barely keep his eyes open.

"Keith?"

Keith blinked and glanced towards the entrance of his room, Shiro peeking around the doorframe with a concerned look.

"Keith?" He repeated once again, his voice holding a concerned tone. Keith just sighed softly, turning his attention towards the ceiling.

"Yeah?"

Shiro frowned. "Want to talk?"

Keith snorted, a ghost of a smile on his face. "What is there to talk about?"

Shiro sighed and entered Keith's room, wearily eyeing his younger brother. "You know what we have to talk about."

Keith groaned. "Shiro, I'm fine. We went over this last night, can you just drop it?"

Shiro sat on the corner of Keith's bed, Keith refusing to meet his brother's eyes.

"Keith, you and I both know that you'll say you're fine when you're really not. You don't have to be ashamed of feeling hurt," he added after Keith rolled onto his side to avoid looking at Shiro.

"I told you, I'm fine."

"Keith."

Keith frowned and the two sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes before Keith finally sighed and closed his eyes.

"I was so stupid."

Shiro frowned sympathetically and leaned ver to place a hand on Keith's shoulder. "Keith, you're not stupid for feeling hurt."

"No, I just feel stupid for falsely believing that maybe she could like me back."

Shiro sighed. "Keith, one kiss doesn't mean anything, especially at a party. She isn't going to end up with Lotor, you know her. If you just tried-"

"Try what, Shiro?" Keith snapped, suddenly twisting his body into an upright position to face his older brother, his brows furrowed in anger. "If I couldn't tell her I liked her before all this happened, what makes you think I'll be able to admit it now that she's probably run off into Lotor's arms?" He asked, throwing his arms up in exasperation and anger. Lowering his gaze, his angry expression faded into that of a sorrowful one, with him looking down at his hands in his lap, his lip out in a slight pout. "It's too late," he said, the words coming out out of his mouth sounding like a whisper.

Shiro frowned and patted Keith on the back. "Look, I know everything looks bad right now, but things will get better soon. I just don't want you to feel depressed because of Pidge, Keith. My best advice would be to tell her how you really feel before something does happen," said Shiro as he caught Keith's gaze.

Keith looked up at him with a hurt expression, crossing his arms against himself as if he was hugging himself. "But Shiro, she started the kiss which means that she wants something with him. Face it, I lost any chance I had at dating Pidge now that Lotor took it," he said bitterly.

Shiro frowned. "You've really ingrained that into your mind, huh?"

Keith flopped back onto his bed, throwing an arm over his head to cover his eyes. "It's hopeless," he muttered while refusing to meet his brother's eyes. The older boy just sighed in defeat, getting up and opening the curtains. Keith immediately sat up and glared at Shiro.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He hissed through clenched teeth, beginning to to back up against the headboard of his bed. Shiro ignored his brother's comments, instead pulling open the window, much to Keith's horror.

"Shiro, no! I'm not ready to face her!" He was practically begging Shiro to shut the window, his pleas falling to deaf ears as Shiro shook his head and cupped his hands around his mouth and spoke loudly.

"Pidge, I need some help!"

Keith froze as he heard Pidge groan and get up, the boy glaring daggers into the back of Shiro's head. Pidge's curtains rustled as she pulled them open, her eyes showing signs that she was still clearly exhausted and not up for Shiro waking her up at eight.

"What?" She snapped, leaning on her window sill with her bottom lip jutting out. It was adorable, and it made Keith want to scream because it just wasn't _fair._

Shiro grinned. "Well good morning to you too."

Pidge rolled her eyes, rubbing them a second later. "Shiro, we've gone over this. You let me sleep until ten on Saturdays and I won't wake you up early on Sundays. It's been our policy since I was like, what, seven?"

Shiro shook his head in amusement, leaning over the window sill to get closer to her. "I knew you'd never forget."

Pidge snorted before waving him away, suddenly perking up and looking around with a confused look. "Wait, isn't that Keith's room? Where is he?" She asked, unaware of how Keith's breath had caught in his throat. Shiro glanced over at him, a brow raised and Keith desperately tried to tell him to stop with various hand movements. Shiro shrugged and looked back at Pidge, the girl looking more confused than she had been before.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Keith," came Shiro's response as the younger slapped a hand over his head in dismay. Pidge frowned, trying to peer around Shiro with a confused look.

"Seriously? Keith, what are you doing?"

Keith remained squished up against his headboard, determined to stay hidden. Shiro sighed exasperatedly and marched up towards his brother, pulling him by the collar of his shirt and pushing him towards the window. Keith screeched before slamming into the wall next to his window, groaning as he fell to his side, all in front of Pidge.

Pidge's eyes widened before she burst out laughing, doubling over while clutching her stomach as her eyes squeezed shut. Keith remained on the floor, refusing to get up.

"Keith, come on. I'm not that scary in the morning," she said, trying to be as light hearted as possible. Something felt strangely off, and it was annoying the hell out of her.

 **Well, you are talking to the guy you're trying to get over as if it's nothing and haven't broken it to him that you're possibly dating Lotor, also known as the guy who Keith hates,** said the voice in her head that hadn't left her alone since yesterday. Pidge growled, furrowing her brows in annoyance.

"Shut _up,_ " she hissed, looking over shoulder as if she expected someone to be there. Her conscience, possibly. Shiro stopped looking down at Keith with a grin and instead turned towards Pidge, a confused expression on his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked, causing her to blink and snap out of her annoyed trance. Instead, she looked up at him and flashed her toothy grin, leaning on her window sill as she stuck her neck out of the window.

"I'm amazing, but really tired," she admitted after Shiro stopped chuckling. He quickly became somber, looking at her with a frown.

"How was the party?" Croaked out Keith from his position on the floor. Shiro looked down at him with a sympathetic look, alarm bells going off in the back of Pidge's head as she saw how disappointed Shiro looked.

**He knows, you fool.**

"Shut up," she said, hissing the words through clenched teeth. "It's not like I'm exactly proud of what I did," she muttered quietly so that Shiro and Keith couldn't hear. It was true, she had rushed into doing something without fully thinking it through, but she also knew that there was no way that Keith would ever reciprocate her feelings. She probably wasn't even a girl in his eyes, just the kid sister he never had. His neighbor, at most.

It was a dead case, trying to go after Keith. It was better to accept the harsh truth than to allow her heart to be hurting by pining over someone who had shown no interest in her.

She shrugged off the voice in her head, shaking her head to clear her thoughts as she she sighed. "You know, it was a party. Pretty wild. Nothing much happened though," she said, lying through her teeth.

Keith slammed his head on the floor upon hearing the last sentence, quickly placing a pillow over his mouth to muffle his screams. Pidge looked at Shiro in alarm, the older boy only shrugging with an uneasy smile.

"Keith?"

Keith groaned as he sat up, getting on his knees and slowly inching his way closer to her. She was looking at him with a that adorable confused face of her, the look she sent him only making him sick to his stomach as if he was feeling used. He scoffed inside.

 _Why am I feeling used when she doesn't even know how I feel about her? I'm so stupid,_ he thought bitterly, before flashing her a forced grin. "I'm okay, I'm fine, don't worry. I need to get dressed though, so Shiro needs to get out of my room and I need to close the curtains. Nice talking to you, Pidge!" He said before quickly slamming his window shut and sliding the curtains closed, leaning heavily against the wall.

"Shiro, why the fuck would you do that?!"

Shiro shrugged. "You can't just ignore her, Keith. Like it or not, she's our neighbor who's going to be there until you graduate."

"What if I just, I don't know, transferred schools?"

"No."

"I've been thinking, maybe Galra High?"

Shiro looked at his brother aghast, Keith only shrugging in response.

"Keith, there is no way any family member of mine is going to transfer from one of the best high schools to a place full of crack heads," said Shiro. Keith rolled his eyes.

"Shiro, I wouldn't be a crack head. I promise I'll behave."

"We can barely trust you at Altea because you've had behavioral issues since you were five. I'm pretty sure that if Pidge wasn't around, you would be a lot more impulsive."

Keith snorted, turning his head away from his brother. "Pidge is like ninety percent of my impulse control."

"What's the other ten percent?" Asked Shiro cautiously, looking at his brother in concern.

Keith shrugged. "Probably Pidge too in some weird way."

Shiro sighed, shaking his head. "This is why we can't afford you being in off terms with Pidge. It'd seem too weird, don't you think?" Asked Shiro while looking at his brother expectantly.

"You're just saying that because you're worried I'm going to do something impulsive if I'm not talking to Pidge," said Keith while giving his brother a deadpan look.

Shiro shook his head. "No, what I'm saying is that- oh forget it," he said, getting up and marching towards the door. "Your angsty teen romance bullshit is quite frankly just that, bullshit," he muttered before walking out the door, clearly fed up with Keith. Keith only blinked, clearly confused by what had just happened.

Allura, who had been standing in the door frame prior to Shiro's hasty exit, looked after him with concern laced on her face, quickly turning raising a brow as if to ask what happened. After a few seconds, she nodded and sent him a sympathetic smile, turning around to face Keith.

"Can I help you?"

"Actually, I think I might be of some help to you," she stated, cautiously walking into the room with her hands folded behind her back. "If you'd let me help you, that is," she said while sending him a small smile.

Keith frowned and sat down on his bed, looking at her expectantly. "I have no other option," he muttered while looking to the side. Allura rolled her eyes, walking into the room and sitting across from him in his chair.

"Very funny. Keith, moping around isn't going to end your heartbreak-"

"Why does everyone say it's heartbreak?! I'm literally just a boy who's trying to go to a friends house to finish his project, can you guys just leave me alone?" Keith looked at her with a frustrated face, Allura stubbornly remaining seated on the chair.

"We refer to it as heartbreak because of how you reacted last night, Keith. If you had walked in with your normal expression, we wouldn't have said anything. But because we know you, and we know that you've liked Pidge for years and that you had to see her do _that_ in front of you, then that's why we're worried. Keith, we want to help and make sure that you don't feel like you can't trust any of us because that's simply not the truth. We're here to help you, wether you want it or not."

Keith frowned, glaring at the floorboards. "It's just not fair," he finally muttered out after a few moments of silence. Allura perked up, tilting her head as she looked at him in confusion.

"What's not fair, Keith?"

"I don't know, Allura. I just feel really betrayed, and I know that I shouldn't because she was never my girlfriend or anything like that, but I can't help it. It's like, I was complete before but now I'm not," he admitted, refusing to meet her eyes. Allura frowned sympathetically.

"Keith, you have every right to feel upset about this."

"But-"

"No buts, Keith. You might have not told Pidge how you felt about her, but everyone would have to be stupid to not see that you really do care about her. Pidge is a girl, and girls at her age yearn for a relationship. If she was with Lotor, she might have just felt inclined to kiss him because she wants to be in a relationship. She'll wise up, as will you and then you two will hopefully stop avoiding the inevitable truth, which is that you two are practically made for each other. So yes, you have every right to feel upset about it because that's just how feelings are. They're confusing and, quite frankly, bullshit at times, but they're how you feel and no one can tell you how you should or should not feel," she stated while placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Keith frowned, biting the inside of his lip. "A part of me knows you're right, but the other part just wants to cry about it and it's so stupid because she's not mine and-"

Allura shook her head and hugged him from the side, Keith shutting up and allowing himself to be held.

"I just-I just-"

"Shh, it's alright. Let it out," she soothed, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly with her hand. Keith's lips quivered before a few tears escaped his eyes, letting his shoulders sag as he she rubbed circled with her thumb into his arm.

The two sat in the position for five minutes, Keith's tears eventually fading out, the boy wiping his eyes with his right hand. He then sat up, Allura letting go of him and looking at him cautiously.

"Are you alright now?"

Keith sent her a small smile. "Not really. But letting it out felt...good, I guess."

Allura smiled. "It's always better to let your emotions out rather than keeping them shut in. How about we go downstairs for breakfast? We do have a project to work on, you know," she said, eyeing him playfully. Keith snorted, getting up and heading towards the door.

"Did you really say 'we?' Allura, no offense, but you don't do really do much other than snuggle up with my brother."

Allura rolled her eyes, inwardly sighing in relief that he seemed to be like his normal self. "Call it what you want, but I believe that I help plenty."

"Yeah sure." Keith walked out of his room, pulling his jacket off the hook on the wall and letting it hang loosely over his shoulder as he headed towards the dining room.

Allura watched him walk away, a funny feeling in her stomach. Keith had vented, and he seemed fine now, so why did she feel like something was still wrong?

* * *

Pidge was a mess. Well, even more so than usual.

After what had happened the previous night, she remembered how Lotor had asked her to date him after the kiss. She had panicked and had told him to let her think about it, but she was so unsure. Sure, she wanted to get over Keith but this just didn't feel _right._ It felt like she was forcing something, something that would have major consequences later.

It was killing her inside.

She couldn't sleep most of the night, her thoughts plaguing her, her conscience telling her that this was all a bad idea, but she was honestly just confused. Yes, she didn't want to give herself false hopes but there was also a small part of her that hoped that Keith would swoop in like a knight in shining armor and declare his love for her, saving her from heartbreak.

"This isn't a movie," she muttered out before groaning loudly and throwing herself lazily on her bed. "It's just not realistic," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

She felt like crying, but she didn't know why. It wasn't like she had done anything wrong, it was one kiss. _One kiss doesn't mean anything, right?_ Her mind was telling her that moving on and starting a relationship was the best thing she could do, but her heart was warning her that something was going to change within Lotor. It was a war between her mind and heart, and it sickened her.

"I'm just his best friend and cryptid hunting buddy" she muttered dejectedly. Glancing at her clock, she sighed and sat up, sitting in bed while staring sharply at the window across from hers.

Keith's curtains were closed.

It wasn't supposed to mean anything, because they were just curtains, but she felt weird seeing that they were closed. They were always open, and it was hurting her that they were shut but she didn't know why. Maybe she was thinking too much into it.

"Pidge, are you ready to go over to Lance's house?"

Pidge jumped and on instinct grabbed a pillow from her bed and threw it at the door, Matt falling backwards and slamming his head into the railing.

"PIDGE!"

Pidge winced upon hearing how her brother's skull slammed against the railing, the girl getting up and tugging her sneakers on before walking over towards him cautiously.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you."

Matt stopped rubbing his head to look up at her quizzically, clearly confused. "Are you okay?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Matt frowned. "You usually laugh at my misery unless it's actually something really bad. You didn't laugh at me now, and that makes me very concerned. What happened?"

Pidge shrugged. "Just tired," she replied curtly before stepping around him and heading down the stairs, leaving Matt to look after her in confusion. There was something off about her, and it was bothering him.

A sudden realization hit him and he bolted down the stairs, chasing after her.

"Wait I have to leave with you! Katherine Holt, you are not leaving me!" He called as he ran out the front door.

* * *

Hunk was worried.

It wasn't like he could really help it, if he was being honest. He worried about a lot of things, like accidentally messing up any computations needed to fill an equation or messing up the amount of sugar in his famous homemade chocolate chip cookies. But friend troubles?

His anxiety was through the roof just thinking about it.

There was something too perfect about the day, as if it were a movie where everything was fine and Susan and Carol were having a nice picnic before zombies starting popping out of nowhere. It was fishy, to say the least.

"Hunk? You okay?"

Hunk swiveled his head around and sighed in defeat, shaking his head. "No, sorry. I just-"

"Yeah?" Egged on Lance, brow raised expectantly.

"I just, don't know if Keith and Pidge are going to be on good terms after what happened last night. You saw how devastated he was. I can't imagine what happened when he got home."

Lance frowned. "You too, huh?"

Hunk nodded. "Keith worried me when he just sat back and didn't say anything on the ride back. It's like he just shut off, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

Hunk looked at Lance skeptically. "Do you actually or are you trying to brush it off because it's Keith?"

"Hunk! I don't hate Keith, if that's what you're trying to say. I'm not a freshman anymore and frankly, I have more important things to hate now. A good example would be calc, but going back to the main point, I know what you mean."

"So Keith isn't important?"

Lance looked at Hunk with an exasperated look. "Hunk, I just told you!"

"Just checking, because sometimes you act like a freshman," supplied Hunk while looking at Lance suspiciously. Lance sighed.

"Okay, sure buddy. But going back to your main point, I do know what you mean and I thought it was only me that got crazy worried when Keith didn't even send me some stupid remark when he and Shiro dropped me off. When he and Pidge don't bully me before leaving me at my house, it feels so weird," remarked Lance while furrowing his brows. "Those two are so similar that it's just plain out creepy," he said while shuddering.

Hunk frowned. "You think they'll get mad at each other?"

Lance raised a brow. "If Pidge knew that he saw, then probably yes. Pidge doesn't have any reason to be mad at Keith if she doesn't know that he spied on her. Well, we spied on her."

"But Pidge can sense things. It's like she has a sixth sense, and she knows when we lie. Remember the way we tried to lie to Mr. Holt? She was the only one who was able to get us out of trouble even though she had been knocked out for hours and when we asked her about it, she just said that 'my friends are doing something stupid' senses were tingling."

Lance grinned. "Of course I remember that! It was so epic!"

Hunk looked at his best friend with a l bewildered look. "No it wasn't! We almost got caught in the middle of a lie when he caught us sneaking out from the back because you wanted to play a prank on Keith!"

"Exactly!"

Hunk face palmed. "I question what your definition of 'epic' is."

"My definition of epic is that prank we played on Keith that night. He looked so pissed the next day when he was called an anime character because his hair was dyed white. How could you not love the teasing that he got? It was great!" Lance cackled as he recalled the event, causing Hunk to slightly smirk.

"Yeah, I remember how he pranked you back. If I recall, a certain someone had his underwear go up the flagpole when he took a shower after gym."

"I'm never giving Keith my locker combination again," Lance said while shivering.

"Why would I want your locker combination?"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Ugh. This guy."

Keith smirked. "Did you just remember when I stole your underwear and had it go up the flagpole? Because that was funny."

Lance stuck his tongue out and pouted. "It was not funny! You humiliated me in front of the entire school!"

"Is that where your rivalry started?" Asked Allura from behind Keith. The raven haired boy snorted.

"No. Lance thought we had a rivalry because I always had better test grades than him and he was so convinced that I was doing it on purpose when I was just being naturally smart. And besides," he added while smirking, "how could I embarrass you in front of the entire school when you had already accomplished that with the Allison Accident?"

Hunk gasped and Keith smirked, obviously enjoying how pale Lance's face went.

"You so did not just bring up 'she who must not be named!'"

"I did."

"What a savage," piped up a voice from the bottom of the steps.

"Hey, Pidge is here!" Lance said while grinning. "We were just talking about our epic pranks."

"The anime haired Keith prank? Please, his prank of making sure that your Spongebob underwear went up the flag pole was better."

Hunk looked over at Keith in concern, the raven haired boy jumping slightly upon feeling Hunk's touch. "You okay?"

Keith nodded. "I'm fine. Don't worry. Allura helped me calm down a bit. I'll be okay." He sent Hunk a small reassuring smile and Hunk sighed.

"If you start feeling anxious, tell me. I can make you one of your favorite foods."

Keith smiled softly. "Thanks. But I'm okay now. I'll take you up on that offer if something does happen, though."

Hunk smiled and nodded before turning towards Lance again, not realizing how Keith's smile had immediately dropped after the boy looked away from him.

He was not, in fact, 'fine.' It had taken him a lot of mental preparation to be fully prepared to see her again, and even now he was feeling weird around her. It was like there was some awkward air, and she couldn't feel it.

But he could.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Lance sighing loudly, the Cuban boy jutting his thumb out towards the front entrance of his house. "I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather go inside than stand outside all day."

Matt smirked. "Did your ass finally start to freeze?"

"What ass? His ass is flatter than a steam rolled pancake," supplied Pidge while side eyeing her brother. Lance gasped indignantly, crossing his arms and pouting.

"Shiro, do something!"

"Okay." Shiro calmly walked up the steps and opened the front door of Lance's house, stepping inside before closing it softly behind him. The others looked at each other in confusion and Lance huffed.

"Fine then!"

Hunk gently tapped Lance on his shoulder. "Buddy, I know you like being dramatic, but we probably should go inside to start working on Voltron."

"Assuming the little monsters didn't break it," mused Keith in amusement as he watched Lance glare at him.

"My siblings would do no such thing!"

Keith shrugged. "If they're anything like you, they just might."

Lance huffed once more, finally turning towards the door. "Fine then! Everyone except Keith is allowed into my house since he thinks that me siblings are savages," he added snootily while giving Keith the stink eye.

Pidge snorted. "Lance, stop being over dramatic and open the door. Some girls are freezing."

"Oh, sorry Allura."

"I was referring to Matt, but that works too."

"Haha, very funny, Pidge," said Matt while sending his sister an unimpressed look. She just shrugged, smirking as Lance opened the door and gestures for them to walk inside.

" _Mi casa es su casa,_ " he said while flashing them all a grin. Pidge snorted, pushing his head to the side as she walked past him.

"Yeah, I can tell it's your house. The walls have a bunch of crayon marks on them," she said in amusement as she watched Lance throw his hands up exasperatedly.

"What do you expect?! I have like twenty nieces and nephews! The house isn't going to be crayon clean, no matter how much _mama_ tries to keep it clean!"

Pidge shrugged. "I'm not blaming them, I'm blaming your poor babysitting skills. When we were little, Keith and I used to try and write on the walls before Shiro caught us and gave us actual paper to draw on. Remember that, Keith?"

Keith blinked before nodding. "Oh, yeah. I remember."

Pidge raised a brow, looking suspicious before she slowly turned around to face Lance. The Cuban boy looked to the side, suddenly seeming awkward.

"Why are you two acting weird? Holy shit, don't tell me that you two got together," she teased. Keith clenched and unclenched his fist, shaking his head rapidly while Lance turned visibly red.

"No we didn't! I just-. You know what? I'm going to go find Shiro before he gets lost going to the bathroom. You guys go ahead and go start on Voltron. Hunk knows where it," he muttered before walking away, mumbling a bunch of words in Spanish before heading upstairs to presumably find Shiro.

Pidge blinked before turning towards Keith with a perplexed expression. "Does he seem a bit off to you or is it just me?"

The raven haired boy only shrugged before sighing and stepping forward. "Yeah well, he wouldn't be the only one. Hunk, where's Voltron?" Hunk quickly looked between Keith and Pidge, a concerned look taking over his features.

"It's in the room all the way in the back. Oh, and Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"Marisol is here. You know, just if you wanted to, I don't know, say hi or something like that," he said nonchalantly whole looking at Matt through the side of his eyes with a smirk.

Matt smiled, his eyes lighting up. "Seriously? Where?"

"Kitchen helping Lance's mom make lunch."

No sooner had the words left his mouth before the blur that was Matt passed the four left by the front entrance, Pidge pretending to gag.

"Man, he's so whipped that he doesn't even realize it," she remarked while listening to Matt talk animatedly with Marisol. Hunk awkwardly coughed and Allura looked off to the side, leaving Keith to just roll his eyes.

"Go figure."

Pidge raised a brow, looking at Keith suspiciously. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he muttered out before sending Hunk a strained smile. "I'll be in the bathroom and then I'll join you guys with Voltron, okay?"

"Okay..." said Hunk, trailing off at the end while watching the smaller boy turn around and head upstairs to the bathroom.

"What the hell is going on?" Pidge asked, looking at Hunk and Allura with a frown on her face. "Did something happen to Keith? Who do I have to fight?"

Allura swiveled her head around to send Pidge a small smile, although it was clearly strained. "Let's get started on Voltron, shall we? Hunk, could you maybe show us there? It has been a while since I've been in Lance's house."

Hunk smiled at her. "Of course," he said while motioning for the two to follow him. Allura nodded gratefully and pulled Pidge along, Pidge trying to protest.

"Allura, what-"

"Oh look, it's Shiro! Hello, Shiro!"

Shiro turned to look at his girlfriend, a smile forming on his face. "Yeah?"

Allura grinned brightly before sending him a despaired look, Pidge looking at Allura in confusion.

"Okay what the hell is going on?"

"So, how's Voltron looking so far?" Asked Hunk, completely ignoring the smaller girl's confusion. Pidge growled, stomping her foot and glaring at all of them.

"You're not answering my question! I want to know why the hell everyone is acting weird! And don't tell me it's nothing, Shiro, because by the way that everyone is acting, then I don't think it's 'nothing,'" she added with a hateful glare as Shiro opened his mouth to speak.

The other four in the room stood next to each other, looking awkwardly between themselves before Lance sighed and walked towards her.

"Look, Pidge-"

"I'm looking, McClain."

He frowned. "There are just some things that we can't say."

"I don't understand. Aren't we friends?" She asked, a hurt look on her face as she stared at him. Lance bit his lip and shook his head.

"It's not that-"

"Then what is it?! Nobody is telling me anything, and frankly, it's bullshit!"

"What Lance is trying to say is that it's not our place to tell you what's going on," added Allura, placing a hand on Lance's tensed up shoulders.

"Then who's is it?"

"Mine," came the reply from the entrance to the room.

Hunk, Lance, Shiro and Allura all looked up towards the door, Pidge immediately swiveling her head around to face the speaker. The room went silent, and Keith stared at all of them with furrowed brows and a frown.

"Keith?"

Keith's frown deepened as he leaned on the doorway, looking directly at Pidge. "That's my name."

Pidge frowned. "Why do you specifically have to tell me what happened? Did someone hurt you? What happened?" She demanded, looking at the four behind her in suspicion. "Did one of you hurt Keith?" I swear-"

A loud snort made her turn her head black around as Keith sneered at her. "What am I missing?"

"It's you. It's all you," he hissed out while feeling his anger grow at a rapid rate.

Pidge furrowed her brows. "What do you mean? As far as I know, I haven't done anything to you."

"You know what you did," he answered in a biting tone.

"No I don't! That's why I'm asking you to explain Keith!"

"Oh really?" He scoffed in disbelief before pointing an accusatory finger at her. "You don't know that you're basically all over social media because you kissed Lotor? You don't know that you just kissed the _enemy?_ You don't know that you betrayed us all? You don't know that you're just looking for trouble with what you're choosing to do?"

Pidge's faces from a confused one, to a shocked one, and finally changed to an angry one. "Oh what, you decided to spy on me?"

"I clearly said 'social media,' didn't I? Do you even listen? Oh wait, you obviously don't based on how you went against all of us saying that doing anything with Lotor would be a good idea."

"You can't trust me enough to make my own decisions? Don't be a jackass, Keith. Oh wait, you already were based on how you decided to spy on me last night!"

"I didn't- agh! Look, the point here is that you're making stupid decisions that are going to bite you in the ass and you don't even realize it!"

"I know perfectly well what I'm doing! You're the one who doesn't know what you're saying!"

"Watch those girls and Lotor turn on you as soon as they're able to. Then you'll realize that you were being a dumbass who didn't know what she was doing. You'll go, 'I wish my friends were here to help!' But guess what? We'll be long gone because we don't interact with those who hang out with Galra bitches!"

"You don't even know them!"

"You don't either! You've been leaving us for some stupid bitches who don't even fit in at Altea and who you haven't even known for more than a few months!"

"But I've known them and they're good people! You're acting like I don't hang out at all with you guys when you're the one who refuses to hang out with me half the time I want to do something or have some free time!"

"No, you are!"

Lance grimaced at the harsh words, closing the door so that his mother and other siblings wouldn't hear what was going on. Shiro looked at Allura worriedly before trying to step in and help.

"Look guys-"

"Oh what, you want to help now, Shiro?" Snarled Pidge, glaring at him. He was taken aback, slowly backing up back towards Allura while watching the girl in front of him stare directly into his soul.

"What?"

"You act like such a peace maker when you're not, you know that? You've been the source for all of my problems ever since you came back!"

"How am I causing you problems?" Asked Shiro, confusion clearly evident in his tone. Pidge scoffed and laughed, shaking her head as she stared at him in disbelief.

"Seriously? I know that you're mad at me for not hanging out with you either, that all of you are, but has it ever occurred to you that you might be source for all my goddamn problems?"

"I don't understand," said Shiro, the confusion clear its he spoke. Pidge scoffed.

"You really don't know? You've been pulling Keith away from all of us for no reason and then when I disappear, you all get super touchy and pissed! Talk about being biased," she said, seething with hatred and rage.

Shiro's eyes widened and he frowned. "I'm not trying to take Keith away from any of you-"

"Well Takashi, you fucking did. Has it ever occurred to you that there's more of us and not just Keith? It's all, 'oh Keith this, Keith that,' but it's never anyone else's fucking name!"

"Hey, don't drag Shiro into this!"

"Shut the fuck up Keith!"

"No, you shut up! You don't know what you're saying! That's the thing, you think you know everything, that you're a know it all when you're not! You're just some stupid sixteen year old who doesn't know what she wants in life so she chooses the slut life and kisses the first guy who's nice to her," he added while glaring coldly at her.

Allura audibly gasped, placing a hand over her mouth while Lance's eyes widened and Hunk frowned and stared at Keith with a disappointed look on his face. Shiro looked shocked and disappointed at the same time, while Pidge looked at Keith with a hurt expression.

"And you're the loner who doesn't understand human emotions at all," she added after a few moments of silence. Keith glared at her.

"What."

"You're an idiot," she added softly before looking up at him with a scowl on her face.

"All of you are! None of you try to understand me!"

"But I-"

"Shut up, Allura! None of you want to try to understand me, and none of you know what I'm feeling or what's going on with goddamn life because if you did, you would've known that I rejected him after the kiss. But no, I'm the slut here, aren't I?" She said, hurt evident in her tone.

"Pidge-"

"No Hunk. Just don't. I'm tired of having to choose between you guys being jealous pricks who have a stupid grudge against my friends. I'm finally making friends, and you all hate them! I'm done. If this is how you guys really are, then I don't want in."

"What?"

"I'm not hanging out with you guys anymore outside of our project. Don't expect me to hang out with you anymore."

"Pidge? What do you mean?"

"What I'm saying is that all of you can go fuck yourselves."

She turned towards the door, pulling it open before stopping and looking down at the doorknob with a sorrowful look. "And Keith?"

"What?" He asked, clearly

She stared at him with a cold glare, gripping the doorknob in an icy grip. "Find someone else to tolerate your bullshit. Just remember that I've been the only fucking person there for you since the beginning when no one else was."

She yanked the door open and stepped outside of the room, nobody daring to move. Not even Keith.

As soon as the door was shut, she broke out in a sprint, a pit in her stomach forming. She tore through the house, evading Lance's siblings who were looking at her in concern.

"Katie, are you okay?"

_No._

"¿Estás bien?" Came Marisol's gentle voice laced with concern.

_No._

She ran out of the house, not even bothering to close the front door. She heard Matt and Marisol calling after her, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get home. She ignored the urge to stop, and instead started going faster.

Her lungs felt like they were on fire, her breathing was ragged and her legs felt like lead. But she kept running, not daring to stop in fear that she would collapse and burst out crying in the middle of the street.

_Don't look back._

* * *

As soon as they were all sure that Pidge was out of the house, chaos ensued.

"What the fuck Keith?! You can't just say some bullshit like that!" Screeched Lance while balling up his fists, his knuckles turning white.

"Oh cry me a damn river, Lance! I said what was in all of our minds when she first started hanging out with... _them_ ," he said in disgust.

Lance glared at him, actually trembling as he raised a shaky finger to poke Keith's chest harshly. "You might not like them, and we might not like them, but Pidge has every fucking right to be mad at you for insulting them! Sure, they aren't the best people but they're her people!"

"They're horrible fucking people! They don't even pass for people!"

"Keith! That's enough," stated Allura while looking at him with an angry expression. "Your anger was understandable at first, but you took it too far by insulting the girls that she's been hanging out with!"

"Oh what, now you're on her side?! You, the one who has a grudge against the Galra and anyone associated with them? You, one of the first to bash on them when she wasn't around?" Keith asked in disbelief.

Allura's eyes widened and she frowned. "I'm not taking sides, but I will say that you were too harsh with what you told Pidge. She doesn't even know what she's feeling, and you're making her feel guilty and wrong for what she's choosing! That is not the correct way to talk to someone, Keith. The manner in which you talked to her was so atrocious!"

"Oh great, Allura is on Pidge's side. You're so two faced," he said in disgust as he glared at her. Allura frowned, Shiro stepping up in from of her.

"Keith, that is no way to talk to someone."

"I don't give a shit, Shiro!"

"Keith, stop!"

They all turned to look at Hunk in surprise, who was seething in anger as he glared at all of them.

"None of you realize how bad this is! Pidge is gone, and she most likely won't want to come back to us for a while! A friendship that was built on trust is now broken because none of us could stay home and not be nosey!"

Keith glared at him. "So what? If she wants to hang out with fake friends that aren't us, then let her fucking do it!"

"Keith!"

"What, Hunk?!"

"You realize that you're acting like a fake friend too, don't you?"

Keith glared angrily at him, opening his mouth to form some sort of reply before quickly shutting it closed and growling. "How am I acting like a fake friend?!"

"You've been the closest friend she's had since she was small, and then you yelled at her for one choice she made when she's been nothing but supportive for you when you needed support! So yeah, congratulations, Keith! You just ruined your friendship with Pidge over a goddamn decision that she took!" Shouted Lance angrily in Keith's face.

Keith's face softened and he immediately swiveled his head around towards the door, suddenly feeling guilty for yelling at her. Lance glared harder at him.

"Oh, so now you feel sorry? News flash, dumbass, she's long gone and probably went to talk about it with her friends. Now you really lost any chance you had with her," Lance said bitterly as he watched Keith's shoulders slump.

Matt suddenly barged into the room, glaring at everyone inside. "Someone explain to me why the hell my sister ran out of the house looking like she was about to cry!"

* * *

Her lungs felt like they were on fire as she finally made it home, immediately running inside her house and into her room. Both her parents weren't home, and she had never been more thankful for that.

She didn't want them to know what she was going to do.

She sat down on the edge of her bed, staring at her open window curtains and growled. Standing up quickly, she closed the curtains with one hand angrily before sitting down on her bed once again.

She felt angry.

She felt angry that someone had taken time to take pictures of her and Lotor to spread around, she felt angry that her _friends_ felt like they had the right to tell her who she could hang out with.

She felt angry about Keith.

Her best friend, her partner in crime since she was five, the one who had supported her through everything was now calling her a _slut_. The one who she had laughed and cried with, was calling her a slut for hanging out with people he didn't like.

It left a sinking feeling in her heart.

She sat in her room in silence, staring at the ground for a couple of minutes before suddenly looking up at the wall with a frown on her face, her brows furrowed.

She quickly fished through her jacket pockets before pulling out her phone, scrolling through her contacts before coming upon the one she was looking for. She quickly pressed the 'call' button and listened the ringing.

Lotor picked up on the second ring.

_"Hello?"_

Pidge bit her lip. "Hey, Lotor."

_"Getting a call from you sure is a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe the honor of being blessed with your call?"_

Pidge frowned as she stared at the picture of her and her friends that was propped up on her desk. Standing up, she quickly placed it face down. She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as she raised her phone to her ear.

_"Katie?"_

"I've been thinking about what you said last night."

_"And?""That was not what I was expecting. However, I want to ask one question."_

"Okay."

_"That means that we are dating as of now, correct?"_

Pidge licked her lips. They were suddenly dry. "Yes."

She didn't see the huge, cruel smirk that had formed on his face as he heard what she had said.

_"That sounds like music to my ears."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeesh Keith.
> 
> I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter and forgive me for not updating frequently, school is a bitch, especially AP World. Apologies, my dudes. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	18. I See My Future In Your Eyes

_Lance was bored._

_Well, it wasn't like he hadn't ever faced boredom, but he was extremely bored. Bored and somewhat sad, he supposed._

_He eyed Pidge from across the room, the girl keeping to herself as she wrote down what their English teacher was saying. Her mouth was in a slight pout, her brows furrowed as she concentrated. He knew she could tell he was looking at her, but she wouldn't dare turn around._

_She hadn't turned around for a month._

_At first, Lance thought it had been a joke. He thought it was one of those, 'oh she's upset but she'll get over it within a week' things, even though he knew deep inside that that was not the case this time._

_The week had passed, but she still refused to look at any of them whenever they called her name. He had tried to reach out to her multiple times over the course of the month, but his attempts were all in vain. Pidge clearly didn't want to interact with them outside of their project. It was as if Voltron was the only thing keeping them somewhat together, although the line was very thin._

_His eyes wandered around until they finally landed on Keith, who was staring at the board with a miserable face while copying his notes. Lance resisted a snort._

_The first few days after Pidge's decision, everyone was hesitant to speak to Keith. The boy had noticed it too, until one day he snapped and told them that he was 'sorry that he couldn't control his stupid feelings about the girl he'd been crushing on since forever because she was running into the arms of the person who was nutritious for being a player back at Altea after building up enough trust withe his partner.'_

_While the group understood him to some degree, they also couldn't understand him._

_"Then why did you say all those horrible things to her? If you truly didn't mean them, then you should go apologize."_

_"Allura, this isn't some kind of fairy tale where I can just say sorry and kiss her so that we get out happily ever after! I fucked up big time, and no matter how many sorry's I say, nothing will make her forgive me."_

_Lance frowned when he remembered what Keith had said that day. A part of him understood that Keith was scared, but he didn't get why Keith was scared. Sure, what he said was unforgivable, but if Pidge truly understood him then she would forgive him, albeit a little bit at first._

_He scoffed. If Keith hadn't wanted things to end up this way, he should've just kept his mouth shut._

_"Lance? Can you tell us what's so funny?"_

_The whole class swiveled their heads towards him, the teacher at the front of the class raising a brow. Lance gulped, frantically looking over at Keith who was shooting him daggers as if he knew what Lance had been thinking._

_Lance awkwardly grinned, clearing his throat. "I uh, I wasn't laughing!"_

_"Really? Then why the soft laughter from your side of the room? You know the rules of disrupting class."_

_Lance frantically shook his head. "I wasn't laughing, honest!"_

_"Then what was so funny that made you disrupt class?"_

_"I was uh," he looked around frantically, spotting Lotor looking at him with an inquisitive stare. "I was laughing about Lotor's hair! God, has such greasy hair! Do you even shower?"_

_Everyone burst out in a fit of snickers, Hunk groaning and Keith rolling his eyes. Lotor frowned._

_"You should look in the mirror before accusing someone of something they obviously don't have, McClain," hissed Pidge while giving him the side eye. The class oohed, laughing at her response. Keith remained silent and stared at his desk, his lips in a slight pout and his brows furrowed. Her words felt like ice, penetrating his heart and making him feel horrible._

_But he couldn't bring himself to apologize or say anything, resorting to staring at his paper while he aggressively drummed his fingers on the desk._

_"Oh wow, look at that! Lotor's girlfriend is defending him!" Laughter was heard from everyone, and Pidge simply shrugged._

_"Someone has to protect him from assholes who don't know how to act like normal human beings that instead only focus on ranking others based on their actions and looks."_

_Lance frowned as he stared at Pidge, opening his mouth before being silenced by the teacher telling him to be quiet and allow her to continue teaching._

_Lance tried to talk to her after class, catching her in the hallway and pulling her aside._

_"Talk to me, Pidge!"_

_She stood there, perfectly still before a sinister look took over her features. "Sure." Her eyes went pitch black, and she cackled before rushing towards him._

_All Lance thought before being eaten alive was 'shit, Lotor is a vampire and he bit her!' He screamed as she sank her fangs into his neck, his voice being cut off as she sank her fangs deeper, and then-_

"Lance, wake up!"

Lance screamed as he bolted upright in his bed, panting heavily as he stared at the entrance of his door. He placed a hand over heart, staring wide eyed at his sister.

"Lance? Are you okay?"

"Is it normal to dream of your friends turning into vampires because they were bit by their evil boyfriend?"

"I don't think so," answered Marisol while sending her brother a confused look. After registering what he said, her eyes widened and she frowned. "Another Pidge dream?"

Lance nodded. "I don't understand why I keep having these dreams, Mari."

"Maybe because you don't like her boyfriend and she's giving you the silent treatment?" Stated Marisol blandly. Seeing her brother send her an unimpressed look, she shrugged. "What?"

Lance let out a sigh. "This is the tenth dream this month! First Pidge and Lotor were some kind of half lizard people and the next day they were some kind of human eating dragons!" He explained frustratedly.

"I can't imagine why you would be having such dreams," said Marisol while crossing her arms. Lance pouted.

"Mari, this is no time to joke!"

" _Tienes razón._ You're right. I'm sorry, Lance."

Lance groaned. "I just want these stupid dreams to be over."

Marisol frowned. "For starters, I think all of you should apologize to Pidge."

"But it was only Keith who yelled at her!"

"That's true, but you didn't stop him before he could continue. Your silence could've led her to believe that all of you agree with Keith," she responded while leaning against his doorframe.

"But we don't! Even Shiro disagreed with Keith, and he rarely does!"

"But that's Shiro, not you."

"I guess you're right," he finally said after a few moments of silence. "But I don't understand why Pidge would think I'd agree with Keith, Mari. I never agree with Keith!"

"But do you think she'd really think that at this point if you were silent? Look, Lance," she said while sending him a small frown, "if she felt hurt by the comment, then do you really think she'd think twice before putting you all at fault? Keith some pretty hurtful stuff, you know."

"Pfft. As if I didn't. He's been all regret since that, and we told him to apologize but he's all 'oh no! I screwed up too bad to apologize! And now she's dating Lotor, so how am I going to apologize?!'' Said Lance, mimicking Keith. "It's so stupid! I just want this whole thing to be over, Mari," he muttered dejectedly as he hugged himself.

Marisol sighed before sending him a small smile. "I know. Trust me, it's probably killing her too not talking to you guys. But if you want things to straighten themselves out, then you need to actually talk about what happened with her. If there's no communication, then you can't expect anything to be resolved. Hermanito, don't let fear stop you from doing what's right and apologize to her."

Lance raised a brow as he looked at his sister. "You know, you should really be a phycologist."

Mari snorted. "In case you haven't realized, college costs money and I have to work just to be able Papa to let me stay in the house."

"I thought he said you didn't have to pay!"

"He did, but I feel like I should be at least helping with the bills."

"Oh."

They sat in silence, Lance's phone vibrating. He raised a brow. "Who's calling me at this unholy hour?"

"Lance, it's nine in the morning."

"Shh!" Lance checked the caller ID and groaned before picking up. "You're disgusting."

_"I didn't even say anything!"_

"You're still disgusting."

Keith sighed on the other side of the line. _"Look, I need help."_

"Are you finally-"

_"Fuck you, no. It's about Shiro."_

"What about my hero?"

_"Let me finish! Okay, so Shiro is going to drive out and meet Alfor today. I think he's going to propose."_

"Holy shit really?!" Screeched Lance as he grinned. "Finally!"

_"I know. But I need your help. Allura wants to go meet Alfor too, but Shiro said he wants to talk to Alfor alone and get the ring that belonged to Allura's mom to propose. Why he chose today of all days to actually get the ring is beyond me, but I need your help to distract Allura."_

"What am I supposed to do?"

_"I don't know, take her to the mall or something! We need her to not be suspicious, so don't do anything stupid, okay?"_

"Pfft, I'm a master at keeping secrets! But totally unrelated, what about uh, you know who?"

_"... Just focus on keeping Allura busy. Pidge doesn't care about anything we're doing anyways so yeah, nothing we can do about that."_

"Gee, it's almost as if you can't apologize," said Lance sarcastically, hearing Marisol snort from the doorway.

_"Will you help me or not?"_

"Okay okay geez! I'll help you! Just, think about it?"

_"I have to go. Bye."_

Keith hung up, leaving Lance to groan frustratedly. "Stupid Keith," he muttered under his breath. 

Marisol just sighed. "Just get ready, Lance. You know how important this is to Shiro, so you should try to help."

"I will I will! Just, get out of my room Mari! I have to change!"

Marisol laughed as she closed the door, standing outside it before sighing and walking away. She knew her brother, and as much as he would try to act so upbeat, she knew that he was upset about the Pidge situation.

She just hoped that it would all be resolved quickly.

* * *

Keith grunted as he cracked his neck, eyes narrowing. "Shiro, I don't get why you chose today, Christmas Eve, to go get a ring and approval."

"Yeah man. If you wanted to propose to Allura so badly, and had enough time to plan out this entire dinner and get everyone involved with the surprise, why couldn't you have gotten the ring before?" Asked Matt while raising a questioning brow.

Shiro frowned. "How was I supposed to know that you needed an actual ring to propose?"

Matt facepalmed. "Look Shiro, when you want to propose you have to be sure of what you're doing. No nervous fumbling around, none of that. Now, for starters, you'd actually need a ring. Then you'd give a big speech about how much you love her and how much she means to you, and when she gets confused you take her hand and go, 'Allura, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?' That's how you propose, Shiro."

Keith and Shiro both blinked, looking at Matt with surprised faces.

"How come you know so much about proposals?"

Matt shrugged. "Let's just say that they've been on my mind a lot. Anyways, do you even know where Allura's dad is?"

"He said he'd meet me at The Diner, sometime around twelve and after we're done he'll give me the ring."

Keith frowned. "Wait, you said 'me.' If Matt and I are going, what the hell are we supposed to do?"

"We'll be the moral support hidden behind Shiro at another booth, of course," answered Matt, a smirk on his face.

Keith rolled his eyes. "I don't think Alfor would like that. I'm staying home."

"Keith, no. You've been holed up in your room for the past month, and it's not healthy," remarked Shiro with a frown on his face.

"I've come out of my room!"

"For school," replied Shiro dryly. "If you're not at school, you're locked up in your room doing who knows what. You don't come out of your room unless it's totally necessary."

"So? I like personal space!"

"Look Keith, Shiro is just worried," Matt said with a frown etched on his features.

"I didn't ask anyone to feel sorry for me," Keith spit out while glaring at the both of them. "I know why you're saying it, but you need to lay off. I'm my own person, and I make my own decisions and if I decide to spend the rest of my life in my room, then that's what I'm choosing."

Matt rolled his eyes. "You don't get it, do you? Nobody is saying that they're feeling sorry for you, you're just making assumptions again and letting your anger get the best of you like usual," he answered with a slight glare.

Shiro sighed. "Guys, please. Keith, I just want you to go outside and get some fresh air. Being holed up in your room all the time isn't healthy."

"But I like it."

"Just like my sister likes hanging out with her friends," replied Matt.

Keith stood there in silence, both Shiro and Matt looking at each other. Shiro sent the smaller man a frown, Matt shrugging.

"It's true, no?"

"Go ahead and rub it in, asshole."

"Gladly."

Shiro sighed and inched the bridge of his nose. "Look, if you two are going to fight the entire day, then do it somewhere I can't see or hear you."

"It's not our fault you waited until last minute to get a ring."

"Or waited last minute to put a ring on it," said Matt with a smirk on his face. Keith sent him an unimpressed look, Shiro face palming.

"Why are you my best friend again?"

"Because I'm one of a kind, baby," answered Matt with a grin on his face. Keith frowned, watching Matt's grin slowly fade as Shiro shook his head in amusement.

"I'm going to need a lot of vodka at the end of the night."

"More like champagne if you don't pass out before you propose," mused Matt in amusement. Shiro shook his head.

"I sure hope I don't. I'll be gone for a few hours, and I want you two on your best behavior. Keith, I want the house to be in tact when I come home. Matt, I don't want to find you already drunk when I get back."

Matt and Keith both mock saluted him, Shiro sighing softly as he walked out of the house with his keys in his hands. The two then slowly turned to face each other, looking at the other with a raised brow.

"Now what?"

Keith just groaned.

* * *

The mall was bustling with activity, people rushing from store to store with bunches of bags in their hands. There were children screaming, both women and men crying over certain stores being closed.

Lance snorted. "Serves you all right for going last minute shopping."

Allura raised a brow. "What are you talking about?"

Lance gestured over to one crying woman in front of a closed Gap, Allura frowning.

"Why is Gap closed? It's usually open during Christmas Eve."

Lance shrugged. "Dunno. I'm glad I'm not one of those people that's buying presents last minute, though. Speaking of presents," he said with a playful smirk on his face. Allura sighed.

"No Lance, I am not telling you what I got you for Christmas."

Lance visibly deflated, pouting as he looked at her. "But I deserve to know!"

"You'll find out like everyone else at twelve o'clock, Lance. Right now, I think we should just focus on why you dragged me to the mall on one of the most busiest days of mall history," she said while looking at him with a pout. "I could be home helping Shiro's mother cook, you know."

"Yeah, but I need an expert to help me with my problem!"

"Gross, it sounds like you're having prostate problems," she added while raising a brow. "I'm not sure why you'd need my help with that, Lance."

"Allura, no!" He screeched, attracting some glares from other shoppers. "I just need help trying to find some facial stuff, that's it! You know how important that is to me!"

"I do know that, but why on earth couldn't you wait until after Christmas to find items for your skin treatment?"

"Are you kidding me? My pores will be dead by the time Christmas is over!"

Allura sighed and sent him a small smile. "Alright I'll help. But you're buying me lunch today, okay Lance?"

Lance grinned. "Deal."

The duo proceeded to walk around the mall for a while, chatting about random things. That is, until a certain someone was brought up.

"So did you color code our presents again this year?" Asked Allura in amusement as she watched Lance look between two different face masks. He snorted and sent her a smirk.

"Who do you think I am? Of course I did! Yours is pink, Shiro's is black, Keith's is red, Hunk's is yellow and Pidge's is green. They're all under Pidge's tree," he said while frowning upon saying her name.

Allura frowned. "Lance, are you alright?"

"No, actually. I had another nightmare about Pidge and Lotor again," he confessed while rubbing his neck.

"Another one? That's the tenth one this month!"

"I know! And when I tell Marisol, she just hits me with that psychological bullshit that makes a lot of sense, but is impossible to do!" He said, clearly frustrated. Allura placed a tentative hand on his arm, looking at him in concern.

"Lance? Breathe. I want you to tell me what exactly happened when you told Marisol."

Lance inhaled deeply and frowned as he looked around, as if he was scared that someone would over hear. "I told Marisol what happened, and she said that the reason I'm having those nightmares is probably because I feel guilt about not saying anything or something like that."

Allura frowned. "But do you really feel guilty?"

"Allura, who wouldn't? We all stood there and let Keith let his anger get the best of him as he yelled at her! I don't blame her for going with Lotor, who looks like he's actually treating her right despite his reputation. Allura, I just want all this to be over. I feel like there's a giant hole, and I miss Pidge. A lot."

Allura sighed. "The way you talk about her makes it seem like she's dead, Lance. I know how you feel, and the fact that one argument caused by a misunderstanding of feelings led to this separation seems so ridiculous to me. I miss Pidge a lot too, Lance. But unless Keith apologizes, or anyone of us, nothing is going to be fixed."

Lance sighed, looking down at a face mask in his hand before hastily walking off towards the cashier, Allura following him from behind.

"Do you know how hard it would be for that to actually happen though? Keith doesn't want to even be in the same room as Pidge, so what would make you think that he wants to apologize?" The two advanced up the line, standing in front of the cashier while looking at each other.

"That is a big problem."

"That'll be thirty dollars," said the store employee.

"Even if we did get them to talk, nothing will be the same as before because they'll both remember what happened. They're just like that," said Lance while handing the cashier forty dollars.

"Yes, but regardless of the outcome, they just need to apologize," said Allura as she watched Lance take his change and bag from the employee before muttering a hasty 'thank you.'

Allura walked next to him, eyeing him as he sighed. "You know what Marisol says is true, right Lance?"

"I do. But that doesn't mean it's easy, 'Lura. I just, really want things to stop being like this. You're on the verge of being Shiro's fiancé because let's face it, we all know it's going to happen soon, and things have gone to shit with our friendship with Pidge."

Allura snorted softly. "I wouldn't say that I'm on the verge of being Shiro's fiancé, Lance. He hasn't even proposed yet."

"If Hunk's calculations are correct, then you so will be married in the spring after he proposes sometime before that. I'm suspicious though," said Lance as he squinted his eyes. Allura raised a brow.

"Why are you suspicious?"

"Are you sure you two didn't get secretly engaged without telling anyone?"

"Lance, if I was engaged to Shiro then believe me, it would not be a secret," she said while giggling. Lance smiled.

"Why not?"

"Why would I want to keep it a secret that I am getting married to the best man in the entire universe? I'd be over the moon and exploding with happiness," she added with a smile on her face.

"Oh, so I'm not the best man in the entire universe? Allura, I am truly wounded by your words," Lance said while pretending to be stabbed in the chest. Allura rolled her eyes playfully, smiling.

"No, sorry Lance. But back to what we were talking about, I would never let something as big as that be kept a secret."

"Woah Allura, keep that in the bedroom!"

"Lance!" She yelled, her face flushing a shade of pink as she hit Lance with her purse, the Cuban boy only laughing in response.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry. But seriously, I'm shocked Shiro hasn't proposed either. You don't think he's planning anything, do you?"

Allura shrugged. "I honestly have no clue what Shiro is doing. The point is that we are going to get married, but I don't know exactly when."

Lance grinned. "Hopefully soon. Meanwhile, me and Hunk will be crying in the single corner."

"Is Hunk really single? I thought he was dating Shay," said Allura with a questioning tone. "Also, speaking of Hunk, where is he?" Lance shrugged.

"They're flirting, but not dating. And oh, Hunk is at home helping the moms cook for tonight. Is your dad coming over?"

Allura shook her head and sent him a small smile. "He wishes he could, but he has other plans. Coran is though, I do hope Mrs. Holt doesn't mind."

Lance snorted and waved her off. "Matt's mom loves Coran. He's almost like one of her best friends."

Allura sighed and smiled. "I would think so. Do you know that they met when Coran was in a crash and Mrs. Holt was a doctor that helped him heal?"

"No, you never told me. That sounds like your typical love story though," said Lance while grinning. Allura chuckled.

"That's what I said! But she was already married and was pregnant with Matt, and Coran was also married to his now deceased wife, may she Rest In Peace."

Lance smiled. "I can't believe Coran knew Matt's mom before he was even principle at Altea High!"

"It's crazy, right? Also, speaking of Matt, isn't that him over there?" Asked Allura while looking over at the food court. Lance gasped as he saw Keith and Matt both sitting together, the raven haired boy poking his hamburger with his finger while Matt was talking.

"Oh, I think that is Matt."

"We should say hi-"

"Uh how about we don't? You know, Keith looks so broody and Matt is probably talking to him about the Pidge thing, so we shouldn't interrupt."

"But-"

"What's that? You want to go eat somewhere away from here? Sure! How about we head over to that buffet you like?"

"Uh, yes, but-"

"Oh goodie then let's go!"

He practically dragged Allura out of the mall, glaring at the back of Matt's head and at Keith, who had caught his gaze.

Keith rolled his eyes, making Matt pause.

"What?"

"I just saw Lance drag Allura out of the mall."

"What? Holy shit, what if they're going to eat? I swear if they go to The Diner, we are so screwed!"

Keith snorted. "Will you calm down if I call Lance and ask what his plan is?"

Matt nodded. "Please."

Keith rolled his eyes and dialed Lance's number, sighing as he heard the boy pick up.

_"Well if it isn't captain doofus."_

"Please shut up. Where are you now?"

_"Car. Allura says hi, by the way."_

"Tell her I said hi back. Where are you guys going out to eat? Matt wanted to invite you to eat with us."

_"I told you." "Allura, shush! We're going out to the buffet on the edge of town. They make the best sushi there."_

Matt sighed, obviously relieved. "Oh thank god."

"Yeah, just wanted to check in on you. Well, Matt anyways. Bye." With that, Keith hung up and laid his phone on the table. Matt snorted.

"You didn't even let Lance say bye."

"Why would I wait for something I already knew was going to happen? Seems like bullshit to me."

Matt sighed. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"Shiro's mentioned it once or twice. So did your sister. But that doesn't matter because she doesn't talk to me."

Matt frowned and glared at him. "Don't be angry about her unfriending you. If anything, you deserve it for being a huge dick and saying what you said."

"Well, I'm sorry that I can't control my anger," replied Keith bitterly. "It's not my fault I get so angry. There's just something about him and those girls that doesn't feel right," said Keith while frowning. "I feel like he's going to pull some stupid move and hurt her real bad, and I don't want that to happen."

"Then you should've told her that instead of just yelling at her for hanging out with someone else that wasn't you!"

"I did! She's the one that didn't listen!"

"No, what you said was that she was a slut for kissing Lotor because he was the only guy there with her which is, by the way bullshit because you did the same thing with Lance after your girlfriend of a few months dumped you in eight grade," said Matt dryly while glaring at Keith.

Keith glared back. "I guess I can say the same thing about you and Shiro."

Matt barked out a laugh, causing Keith's eyes to widen as he quickly realized what he said. "Matt, I'm sorry I didn't-"

Matt waved him off, crossing his arms and frowning. "In case you didn't realize, my situation with Shiro is so different than yours and my sister's because one, I didn't kiss Shiro because I've been dumped since I've never had a girlfriend, and two, I didn't call him a slut and ruin or friendship. Also, I'm moving on now."

Keith looked at Matt with a questioning look. "Why did you never tell Shiro how you felt?"

"I thought the guy was straight for the first ten years that I knew him. How was I supposed to know that he liked both guys and girls? It wasn't't like he ever said, 'Matt, I like both guys and girls.' Me pining over Shiro was a lost case, especially after he met Allura and they started dating," said Matt while taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. "I fucked up real bad by not telling him how I felt."

"You should've told him as soon as you found out he wasn't straight!"

"And be a home wrecker? Listen, Keith, I realized a long time ago that Shiro and I dating wasn't to happen, especially after I saw how he and Allura adored each other. That's why I want you to fix things with my sister, because if she ends up with Lotor, you and her are going to feel nothing but miserable, like me," said Matt while sending him a small smile.

Keith frowned. "First you tell me to stay away from your sister, and now you tell me to try and fix things with her. I don't get you, Matt."

Matt shrugged. "I may be pissed at you for what you said to my sister, but I also don't want her to end up with Lotor and I don't want you moping around anymore. You know what you did wrong, so you need to fix it whenever both of you are ready."

"What do you mean when both of us are ready?"

"Whenever you can be in the same room without her glaring at you like you kidnapped her first born," said Matt as if it was the most obvious thing. Keith raised a brow.

"Why that example?"

"I don't know. But the point is that you have to apologize whenever you two are sure you can talk it out without killing each other. Oh, and if you think she isn't miserable without you guys, you're all wrong."

"What do you mean?"

Matt just shrugged and got up, stretching before he motioned for Keith to follow him. "Come on, we need to get home before Shiro does. Otherwise, he'll think that we did something illegal and ran away to avoid the police."

"Speaking of police, weren't we banned from this mall?"

"Oh shit you're right. Well, what security doesn't know won't kill them."

"But if Shiro finds out that we were in the mall after what happened last time, he'll give us _that look_ ," said Keith while shuddering. Matt also shuddered the two looking at each other before Mat spoke up again.

"You know what? Lets go."

"Good idea."

* * *

Pidge stared at the presents under the Christmas tree, mentally counting them.

"Mom? Why is there more than fifty presents under the tree?"

"Don't you remember that everyone is coming over?"

"Oh right. Sorry, I've been busy."

Colleen poked her head around the corner, looking at her daughter in concern. "Are you alright? You've been kind of quiet this entire month. You're not sick, are you?"

Pidge scoffed and shook her head. "Trust me mom, I'm fine. I'm just dealing with some uh, girl issues. Also, is it okay for me to go to Acxa's place after dinner? Lotor and the girls invited me over for a while and I really want to go," she added with a smile.

Colleen frowned. "But you have to stay after dinner! Something special is going to happen, and you can't miss it. It would crush Shiro if you weren't here," she added. Pidge frowned.

"As far as I'm concerned, Shiro wouldn't mind if I left after dinner."

"But Katie, he's planning on doing something special tonight," said Colleen as she tried to wink. Pidge raised a brow.

"What special thing?"

"He's proposing!" Called out Keith's mother from her place at the stove. "And it's about time, because he's not getting any younger!"

Pidge's eyes widened. "Really?" A feeling of excitement ran through her veins before she felt her phone buzz. She looked down and saw it was Acxa, asking her what time she should pick her up. Her excitement was short lived as she sent her mom a small, apologetic smile.

"Sorry. I already promised I'd be there for Acxa and I really don't want to break my promise. Besides, I'm not needed here for Shiro to propose. He'll be fine. Also, my boyfriend will probably be upset I left him when I promised I'd go with him," she said. Colleen shook her head before the two jumped upon hearing a pan fall to the floor in the kitchen.

"When did you start dating Keith?!" Asked Lance's mom, Rosa, as she poked her head around the corner with a shocked look. Pidge felt her lips go dry and she frowned, her brows furrowed.

"It's not him. I'm dating someone else."

"Who?"

"A guy at my school named Lotor. He's a good guy."

Hunk frowned from his place in the kitchen, his mom noticing and sending her son a confused look.

"What's wrong, dear?"

"Nothing, nothing. Oh, we should probably start putting the chickens in the oven now or they won't be ready in time before everyone comes over."

Colleen sighed. "Well, I suppose you're right. Oh, be a dear and call Keith for me? I need him to give me updates on Shiro."

Pidge shook her head. "Just call Shiro. I'm busy, mom."

"Katie, you're just sitting on the couch."

"I think I have some homework. Sorry, mom," said Pidge as she took her phone and stomped up the stairs. Colleen frowned and turned to look at Aiko.

"Did they fight again?"

"Keith hasn't come out of his room unless he has to. Come to think of it, every time I go into his rooms the curtains are drawn."

"Katie's curtains have been drawn for a month. I'm worried."

"If they were fighting, they would have made up by now," interrupted Rosa as she washed vegetables in the sink. "I wouldn't put so much thought into it. As long as they aren't killing each other, then they are probably okay."

Colleen sighed. "Still. Ever since Katie started dating Lotor, she's been distant from Keith and the others."

Hunk snorted fork his place at the over. "More like ignoring," he muttered under his breath. All four mother turned their heads in his direction, causing Hunk to look at them in confusion.

"What?"

"What do you mean?"

Hunk gulped and sent them all a frantic smile. "I just meant to say that yes, Pidge and Keith are kind of mad at each other but it's nothing to be worried about, that's it!" He chuckled nervously, but the mothers all sighed in relief.

"Oh thank god. I thought something extremely bad had happened."

Hunk nodded his head rapidly. "Yeah, uh, that would be horrible!" The mothers all nodded in agreement, Hunk gulping as he bit his tongue. Before anyone else could ask him anymore questions, the front door opened and Keith, Matt and Shiro walked together.

Colleen smiled. "Keith! Shiro! Matt! How did it go?"

Shiro sighed and sent her a warm smile. "Hello, Mrs. Holt. It went fine, and I have permission to marry Allura."

Everyone cheered, and Aiko smiled. "So is Allura's father coming over tonight? It would be fantastic if he was coming over!"

Shiro shook his head as he draped his jacket over the chair in the living room. "I'm afraid Alfor wouldn't be able to make it. Coran is coming over, though. He was there when I asked Alfor permission, and let's just say that both of them had a running bet in place regarding when I was going to propose."

"Who won?" Asked Matt as he plopped down on the couch. Shiro snorted.

"Alfor, obviously. Coran was close, though. He said New Years, while Alfor said Christmas."

"Dad always knows best," muttered Keith as he walked into the kitchen to sit at the table with his arms folded over this chest. Matt grinned.

"Yeah, that's why Shiro is the dad friend."

Shiro groaned, and all the adults in the room laughed. He face palmed, eventually chuckling as he saw Matt send him a wink from his place on the couch.

"At least I'm not the drunk cousin," he said pointedly while motioning towards Matt. The mentioned boy pouted before shrugging.

"I'd rather be a drunk cousin than a dad with a bunch of white hair," he retorted and he laughed as Shiro pouted.

"That's cruel, Matt."

"Yeah love you too," he said cheekily before turning his attention upstairs, where a loud crash was heard. "Is that Pidge?" He asked his mom, who shrugged.

"She went upstairs a while ago. Said something about having to do homework. Check up on her please? She hasn't done anything except sit on the couch and be on her phone since she woke up."

"Oh so she pulled a Keith," said Matt as he eyed the raven haired boy, who just sent him a glare.

"I have not been on my phone all day, dumbass."

"Keith!"

"Keith, watch your fucking language!"

Matt burst out laughing as he heard Shiro curse, Scarlett gasping and Colleen snickering as she eyed her.

"Scarlett, your children are amazing. Can you imagine if Katie and Keith had kids?"

"The kid's first word would be a curse word for sure," the other woman said and the two laughed. Matt raised a brow.

"Mom, you do know that Pidge isn't dating Keith, right?"

An awkward silence filled the room as Keith shook his head. "I have to get something from next door. I'll be right back," he said before getting up and walking out of the house.

Colleen and Aiko both sent Matt a dirty look and he shrugged. "What?"

"You didn't have to say that!"

"My son is heartbroken!"

Shiro coughed and sent both women a small smile. "I'm sure Keith knows that Pidge is dating Lotor and that he's accepted it by now. I mean, it's been a month. Let's leave all boyfriend talk out of the dinner tonight, though."

Matt snorted. "We can't if you're going to propose." Scarlett and Colleen exchanged looks, and before they could say anything, a car beeped outside and Shiro gulped.

"It's Lance and Allura!"

Matt raised a brow before he looked outside and groaned. "Aw man why?"

Colleen raised a brow. "What, what's wrong?"

"He brought the entire McClain clan with him," he said before there was excessive banging at the door. Shiro winced before he cautiously approached the door, opening it and being pushed into the wall as a bunch of small children made their way to the game room upstairs.

Matt burst out laughing, and Allura sighed as she walked in behind them, her hair all over the place. Matt stopped laughing as he raised a brow.

"Woah, you look like hell."

"I just got back," she muttered as she tried to take her hair. "Lance picked up all the young children because Marisol and the others couldn't take them."

"So he brought them to an even smaller environment?"

"No, he brought them over because all his siblings begged him to and because Rosa is the only one who can strike fear into their hearts, according to Marisol," she said dryly while somewhat amused. She turned around and gasped as she saw Shiro sitting on the floor.

"Shiro, what are you doing on the floor?"

"I'm admiring the floor boards." Allura looked at him before laughing, extending a hand towards him. "Don't be silly," she said, giggling as she helped him up. Shiro just sighed and chuckled, accepting her hand and getting up.

Matt frowned before he looked out the door, a smile immediately making its appearance on his face. "Marisol!"

Lance eyed his sister from outside as she walked up the stairs, counting down as she did so. "Ten, nine, eight-"

"What are you counting?"

"How long it takes Matt to tackle Marisol."

"Oh."

"Three, two-"

Keith then proceeded to shake his head as Matt hugged Marisol, Mateo squished between the two. "Does he not realize how obvious it is that he likes her?"

"Did you not realize how obvious it is that you liked Pidge?" Asked Lance as he raised a brow. Keith rolled his eyes and pouted.

"Fuck you."

"Yeah love you too, pal. Let's go inside, I'm freezing my ass off."

Keith shook his head but followed the taller boy inside, immediately wincing upon hearing how loud it was inside. "I've made a mistake."

Lance snickered. "It's called 'the holidays,' Keith."

"Disgusting."

Shiro laughed as he watched Keith make a disgusted face, kissing Allura on the cheek before making his way over towards Keith. "Are you okay?"

"I'm exhausted by just listening to all the noise," he muttered before pouting as Shiro laughed again.

"Take it easy little bro, you can just put your headphones on and ignore everyone."

"Why can't you always be this smart? Sometimes, you're just a piece of shit but I think I'd rather have you like this," he said while gesturing up and down. Shiro chuckled.

"Yeah sure whatever you say. Say Lance, where did you go for lunch with Allura?"

"We went to Tokyo Buffet. I guess you can say..."

"Please don't," begged Keith as he watched the boy smirk.

"We pulled up straight from Tokyo!"

Matt snickered from his place next to Marisol, Mateo pulling at his hair. "But why would it be straight when you aren't?"

"Matt, that isn't in the song!"

Marisol shook her head. "My god."

"You look good today," said Matt as he watched her flush a light shade of pink, a smirk on his face. She pouted.

"Why."

"I'm just teasing you," he said. She shook her head before laughing, Matt wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer.

"I hate you."

"Yeah, I love you too," he said while chuckling and planting a soft kiss on her cheek. All of sudden, it got quiet. Then Colleen and Rosa both screamed.

"Mom my ears!"

"Mama!"

"The day has finally come! Matt and Marisol are finally a couple!" Exclaimed Colleen as she and Rosa hugged each other. Matt face palmed.

"Mom, seriously?"

"Matthew Holt, let me have this!"

Pidge snickered from her place at the bottom of the stairs. "Took you long enough, Matt."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Haha, very funny, Pidge."

Shiro grinned as Allura wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I can't believe you finally found someone who could tolerate you, Matt."

Marisol and Matt both shrugged at the same time, sending everyone into fits of giggles and laughter as Rosa clapped her hands.

"¡ _Es un milagro_! It's a miracle!"

Matt shook his head as he and Marisol both walked into the kitchen, sitting at the table while Rosa immediately started talking to them. Keith snorted.

"I can't believe it took this long for them to hook up. It's been what, four years of pining?"

Shiro laughed. "Well, I'm happy he finally stopped pining and did something about it." Lance snorted.

"Please, do you think he made the first move? Mari told me on the way back that he had asked her out, but she kissed him first."

"When did Matt ever have the time to go out?"

"That's what I said! But apparently, they both went out together and things happened. Oh my god, I finally have a meme brother!" Exclaimed Lance excitedly. Keith snorted.

"In law, you mean."

"He's my brother now, fuck off Keith."

Pidge rolled her eyes in annoyance as she made her way to the kitchen, sitting down across from Matt and starting to talk animatedly with him. Keith frowned as he looked at her from the corner of his eyes, furrowing his brows as he coughed.

"What time do we eat?"

"Two hours if the stupid chicken cooperates," joked Hunk as he placed an arm on Lance's shoulder. Lance grinned.

"Hunk! Did you make any apple pie?"

"Yeah it's on the counter. How was shopping?"

"I found decent face masks. At least my skin will be flawless while my life falls to shit in front of me," he joked. Shiro and Allura winced, both sending looks to Keith who just rolled his eyes.

"Say it a little louder, Lance."

"But do you really want me to?"

Shiro sighed as they started bickering, Allura placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Shiro sent her a smile before he groaned, watching Keith and Lance go back and forth while Hunk tried to be the voice of reason.

This was going to be the death of him.

Eventually, dinner was served and everyone sat at the table, starting to eat as they chattered about various topics. Coran, who had arrived a few minutes earlier, had taken a seat next to Allura as he animatedly talked with Colleen and Sam about his adventures as a child. Keith kept glancing up at Shiro, who seemed to be growing more nervous by the second. Pidge stared at her food and refused to look up at anyone else, stabbing her chicken with her fork.

Shiro started drumming his fingers on the table, Matt kicking his leg under the table. Shiro grunted and glared at him, Allura looking at him in confusion.

"Shiro, are you alright?"

Matt face palmed and Shiro started sweating, taking deep breaths in as he saw Allura stare at him. He felt like he was going to faint out of nervousness.

"Shiro? Shiro, you need to breathe!"

"I-"

"Let's go outside. You look like you could use some fresh air."

Everyone watched the two head out, both Keith and Matt groaning as they watched Allura lead him outside.

"Matt, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything! He just started to get really jittery, and I couldn't do anything so I did the most logical thing and kicked him!"

Pidge snorted. "The most logical thing you thought of was to kick Shiro when he was having a panic attack. Yeah, that makes total sense."

Matt glared at her. "Hey, I panicked!"

Sam frowned. "That's enough you two. We need to be supportive of-"

"Oh shit it's nine, I have to go."

Lance raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"Mom, I'll be back around twelve or something."

"Have fun?" Asked Colleen as she watched Pidge pull her jacket off the couch and tug it on, opening the door and running out. Keith frowned.

"Well, shit."

"Keith!" Said Coran in shock.

Before anyone could ask him to stop cursing, a loud squeal was heard from outside as Shiro started laughing. Matt and Keith exchanged looks before running towards the back door, the two smiling upon seeing Allura crying into Shiro's neck and how he was hugging her tightly.

"I think she said yes."

"You think?!" Asked Keith with a grin on his face.

Allura and Shiro joined them inside shortly after, receiving congratulations from everyone inside. That is, everyone but a certain someone.

Shiro frowned. "Where's Pidge?"

"She uh, was invited somewhere else and she decided to leave early," said Colleen as she sent him a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be back before the night is over."

Allura frowned before she sent her a sad smile. "I hope so," she said quietly before taking a seat next to Coran, who patted her back.

"I have no doubt that she will be back soon and will congratulate you two in her own Pidge way. Beautiful ring, might I add," he said as he saw her smile.

"You knew about this, didn't you?"

"What can I say? I can say that without a doubt, Shiro is the perfect match for you."

Allura chuckled. "I know, Coran." She smiled as Shiro took a seat next to them, and Rosa raised a glass.

"To Shiro and Allura!"

"To Shiro and Allura!"

Everyone laughed, but there was something left unsaid that they knew everyone else knew. As much as Shiro and Allura tried to laugh, the room felt empty without Pidge. But they couldn't let it show, and instead resorted to joke around with everyone else.

That didn't change the fact that while it was supposed to be one of the most happiest and memorable days of their lives, it was one of the most saddest days and a reminder that Pidge was still angry with them.

The holidays had never looked grayer.

* * *

Acxa and Ezor laughed as Lotor rolled the dice, landing in jail as he moved his piece.

"This game is rigged."

Pidge snorted. "Or you're just a sore loser," she teased. Lotor rolled his eyes and smirked.

"I am not a sore loser. I think you might be, though. Perhaps that's why you didn't want to join our game," he said while raising a brow. Pidge sighed.

"No, it's just that I left without saying congratulations to Shiro and Allura. I might be mad at them, but it feels wrong not congratulating them."

"Why would you congratulate them?" Asked Ezor as she rolled the dice. "Woo I got Atlantic Avenue!"

"Shiro proposed tonight, and I know she said yes."

Acxa frowned. "Why didn't you stay then? We could've waited a while longer for you to say congratulations."

Pidge shrugged. "The atmosphere felt awkward at the dinner table. I had to get out of there, and you just happened to have arrived so I left. I'll say congratulations eventually, though," she said while crossing her arms.

Zethrid frowned. "Awkward? What happened?"

"I sort of got into a fight with Keith and said I wasn't going to talk to him."

"You always make up, don't you?" Asked Ezor.

"It's been a month."

"Oh."

Lotor looked to the side and tried to hide his grin, Ezor and Acxa looking at him with a frown. He shrugged, a smirk clear on his face before he cleared his throat and frowned, placing an arm around Pidge.

"That must be horrible. Whatever the problem is, we are here for you. We are your real friends, Pidge. Do not fear us, and do not keep any secrets from us. We will do whatever we can to help you," said with fake sincerity in his voice.

It made the girls sick to their stomach how he spoke to Pidge, as if he really did care about her. She didn't know that she had accidentally just let herself be more looped into his plans, nor did she know that Lotor was going to manipulate her so badly that she would wish that she had never interacted with him.

Pidge sent Lotor a small smile. "Thanks, but I'm okay right now. I'm glad you guys are my friends though. I finally feel like I've found some more people who can be my people," she admitted while sending all the girls a smile.

Acxa bit her lip and Ezor sent her a forced fake smile.

"Of course we're your people, Pidge! We're your true friends!"

"Believe me, I know."

The girls cringed inside as they watched Lotor hug her, Pidge letting herself melt into the embrace as she stared at the monopoly board. She looked so happy, and so safe, as if she wasn't about to be broken by a manipulative man who was nothing but heartbreak. She didn't know, and that's what hurt. This was why Lotor had warned them to not get attached to her. They were regretting everything, and as much as they wanted to tell her to run far away from Lotor, they couldn't do anything.

Suddenly, Christmas Eve was depressing and the New Year looked less promising.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 18 is finally done! I had originally intended for this to be posted on Christmas, but since it was the holidays, I was with family and barely had time to write. I'm so happy that the chapter is finished now though. Merry Late Christmas to those who celebrated it, and if you didn't, well I hope you had an amazing day! This is the last chapter of this year, and I am hoping to release at least one chapter during January, if I can find the time lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	19. Counterfeit Emotions Only Run Skin Deep

Coran hated leaving everything until last hour. Perhaps that's why he had reunited everyone in a classroom at Altea High with not enough heat at nine in the morning on a Saturday.

Talk about horrifying. 

"So we have the basic colors down. Would someone mind repeating them to me?" Asked Coran while fumbling with his glasses. Shay raised a hand.

"Yes?"

"The basic colors are going to be royal blue with gold or silver. We haven't exactly gone over which one we should choose, though. We must take a vote to see if we should use gold or silver."

Pidge sighed. "We've been arguing about colors for almost two hours already. Why don't we just mix up the two? You know, some gold on the eastern part of the Castle of Lions and silver on the south part?"

"A pattern," said Rax while frowning. "Wouldn't that throw the whole theme of two colors off?"

Plaxum shook her head. "It would, but since when is this school traditional? You've got to think outside the box, Rax."

Florona nodded. "Yeah, I agree with Plax here. Altea High is known for breaking a lot of traditions, and there's always something wacky that goes on every year at prom."

"What are you suggesting exactly?" Asked Rax with a suspicious look. Pidge snorted.

"Imagine if we just put tons of colors up for LGBTQ rep. That would be some hell of a prom," she said while grinning slightly. Upon seeing Florona and Plaxum light up, her grin quickly fell as a shocked look took over her face. 

"You guys don't actually want to-"

"It's genius!"

"I am one hundred percent on board with that!"

Rax gasped, looking at them in shock. "You guys want to dress up the Castle of Lions with a bunch of different colors that don't even match with one another?"

Plaxum shook her head. "It's not about the colors, Rax, it's about the representation!"

Shay smiled. "I, for one, think it is an amazing idea. Principal Coran, what do you think about the plan?"

Coran hummed, placing a finger on his chin. "You know, that would show that Altea High is a very accepting place and not only that, but also supportive. Although, I don't know if it's appropriate for everyone."

Plaxum pouted. "Please? We have a lot of students who I know would love to have LGBTQ colors as the prom colors. If Altea High is an accepting place, why not put up those colors? We'd be giving into the homophobes wishes by saying 'no'," she said angrily.

"Altea High is a place where people who are LGBTQ and people who are not interact in peace. If there is a homophobe, then they can just not go to prom, problem solved. Prom is for everyone, not just them. This is a great idea, and I'm not going to vote for any other idea," she finished angrily while crossing her arms.

Pidge blinked, eyes wide. "Woah. I did not know you were so passionate about the LGBTQ community and representation, Plaxum."

Florona raised a brow. "Neither did I. Since when are you so involved?"

Plaxum crossed her arms. "I've talked a lot with people who have told me that they feel like they sometimes don't belong here because they feel like there's no representation. If we were to theme prom, the biggest party event for our seniors, with LGBTQ colors, then that is sure to make them feel like they belong here."

Shay smiled. "Yes, it would! Prom is about reuniting people together so they can have a good time. If there is one person who does not feel like they belong, then they will not have a good time. I am fully on board with this idea," she said while grinning at Coran.

Pidge nodded. "I said it as a joke, but you know? This is actually a good idea. We have two ideas now, keeping it traditionally royal blue with silver and gold, or to have LGBTQ colors as the color scheme for prom."

Coran smiled. "This is truly an astounding idea!"

"But doesn't the student body have to vote for what they want?" Asked Rax with a frown. "This may seem like a good idea to us, but to everyone else? If everyone else votes, you are going to see that the other colors will win. But you do what you wish. I say that we should just go with royal blue and go the safe route."

Shay frowned. "I personally think that you are incorrect, but we will let the school vote show you that," she said while crossing her arms and pouting. Pidge smirked.

"I like your thinking, Shay. We'll let the school vote between those two options, although I personally think the LGBTQ colors will win by a landslide," she replied while a smug look appeared on her face. "It's pretty obvious."

Plax, Florona and Shay nodded while Rax sighed, shaking his head as he turned around to look at the eight other kids in the room with a shrug.

"Whatever."

Shay shook her head. "So that is the plan for the colors. How about the food? Location?"

Pidge cracked her fingers and grinned. "I'll take over from here, Shay. Okay, so the location is going to be at the Castle of Lions- yes, Marcus?"

"What's the Castle of Lions?"

Pidge groaned while Plaxum face palmed, Coran shaking his head. "You're in prom committee and you don't know where the Castle of Lions is? Hello, it's literally the biggest part of the Altea University campus!"

"Oh the privileged hall. Never mind I understand now."

"Why the fuck would it be the privileged hall when so many people from Galra High have also gone there? Trust me, not everyone deserves to be in the privileged hall if it is for privileged people," said Pidge while scoffing.

"It's just a big part of the campus and yes, mostly all the smartest of the smartest people go there but we're talking about the part of the building that was designed specially for parties."

"I'm still in shock that Altea University has a party hall. I did not think colleges had that," murmured Shay in awe. Coran smiled proudly.

"Altea University is not a normal university, my dear. If you would like to hear the origin story of that party hall, I could-" He was silenced by Pidge putting a finger up to her mouth.

"Coran, no offense but I think we can talk about that another day. We should just stick to our schedule so we don't get out late again," she said while crossing her arms. Plaxum raised a brow.

"Since when do you care about time?"

"I have plans, you know."

"With Keith?" Asked Florona, placing a hand on her hip. "Because if it is with Keith, then he knows better than to expect you to- ow! Plaxum!"

Plaxum shook her head. "I love you Flor, but please be quiet." Florona pouted, looking away from Pidge and crossing her arms.

"You're mean."

Plaxum sighed, running a hand through her curly locks. "Look, whatever P-uh, Katie's reason is for wanting to leave on time should be none of our business. Let's just concentrate on finishing our plans like she suggested."

Coran nodded. "Sounds about right. So, where were we?"

Pidge cleared her throat, tucking a stray strand of hair around her ear as she looked at her list. "Next is food and music. We agreed that we need to get the seniors to pay their dues by the last week of January so that all that can be used to pay for the catering and decorations."

"Also, we need to figure out exactly what place we're going to order the food from. There's going to be chocolate fountain, and we agreed to hire a DJ for the night. That's all we have so far," she admitted while scratching her neck. Shay raised a brow.

"I would personally suggest Vrepit Sal's as the place where we should order food."

Lisa wrinkled her nose. "Gross. Isn't Vrepit Sal's like, disgusting? I've heard that like, it has like this reputation for like having food that has no flavor. That's totally like, disgusting."

Pidge's eye twitched as she looked at the girl. "Can you not like, use that word so like repeatedly?"

Lisa shrugged. "I'm just like, speaking the truth."

Plaxum placed a hand on Pidge's shoulder and smiled. "I think Shay's suggestion is a great one. Besides, it's not like Lisa would know what it means to eat real food since all she eats is peanuts," she said blandly while sending the shorter girl a wink. Alyssa glared at Plaxum.

"What?"

"Nothing!" Plaxum said cheerfully, turning to look at the clipboard in Coran's hands. "You should write down Vrepit Sal's as the place where we'll cater the food from. Also, we're going to need loudspeakers for the music being played. Oh, and a decent DJ."

Florona snickered. "Let's get Rolo to be the DJ."

Pidge grinned. "Oh no. If he was the DJ, then he'd probably blast some heavy metal music."

"I bet a certain person would be happy about that," said Plaxum while looking knowingly at Florona, who just giggled.

"Yeah, Keith probably would be happy."

Pidge stopped grinning and frowned, pursing her lips as she furrowed her brows. "Okay so Rolo is out for DJ."

"Actually, if Rolo would like to be DJ then I wouldn't be opposed. This is the one night where you are given some liberties, after all," said Coran as he placed a finger on his chin.

Pidge sighed. "I mean, sure. If that's what you want, then go ahead. Whatever. Florona, how about you present the next things we planned? I'm done for today," she said while handing mentioned girl the clipboard.

Florona frowned, looking at Plaxum for help. The girl just shook her head, sending her a small, sad smile. Florona sighed, putting her glasses on to read the list.

"Okay, next is the order of how events are being organized that night."

Pidge nodded and sighed, hanging her head as she crossed her arms. Instead of listening to Florona, she started zoning out.

_I bet Acxa wouldn't mind joining prom committee. Maybe I can get her to help set up later on. Oh wait, if there's an LGBTQ themed prom, then maybe we can have a a prom queen with her queen and a king with his king and then the other queen and king._

_Shit, maybe I should get someone else's opinion first. Ugh, prom planning is stupid. Who wants heavy metal? Nobody other than those emo people listen to it. Ha, it's Keith._

She frowned, glaring at a speck of dirt on the ground while Plaxum and Florona talked about prom with the others.

_Forget him, stupid. He's a piece of shit who can't respect people's choices. I hate him so much. I don't get why he can't support me when I've always supported him. I feel betrayed, and hurt I guess? Is it worth giving him a second chance?_

_No, I'm staying as far away from him as possible. I can't have toxic people in my life. I could make an exception for Allura, because I know she yelled at him for the shit he said. I can just imagine the look on his face,_ she thought while grinning manically 

_I can't forgive him. He fucked up, and he needs to apologize for being a jealous idiot. Maybe-_

"Katie?"

Pidge was brought back to reality as Plaxum called her name, raising a brow. "Yes?"

"We want to know if you're on board with the schedule."

"Oh uh, yeah sure. Whatever you guys feel is best. Oh look, it's twelve already. I gotta go, my ride is probably waiting for me already. See you guys after school on Thursday," she called out over her shoulder as she ran out the door, tugging her should on.

Plaxum and Florona exchanged looks with Shay, who only looked after her in confusion.

"Bye?"

Coran blinked and smiled at them. "Don't worry, she probably just has a bunch of things going in in that big brain of hers. Er, we'll continue this Thursday after school! Don't be late!"

Florona and Plaxum saluted him as they waited for Shay, glancing at the door.

"Okay, please tell me I'm not the only one who noticed that Katie is being all touchy about Keith," said Florona. Plaxum sighed, closing her jacket zipper as she shook her head.

"You're not the only one. He's been missing from her side for a month now, and it's concerning," she said while putting on her hat. "I though I was the only who noticed," she admitted.

"You are not the only one who noticed. When we came back from Thanksgiving break, I noticed that she was not hanging out with any of her normal friend group. Every time they walked around, they were without her and she was stuck to Lotor's side at all times," said Shay as she joined them.

Florona frowned. "Do you think they got into a fight?"

"I don't think so. If Katie and her friends got into a fight, they would've made up by now. It's happened before," said Plaxum while shaking her head. Shay frowned, walking out of the school with the other two behind her.

"It could be very possible that they did get into an argument. By the looks of it, it seems that this was a really bad argument and neither Katie or Keith is willing to apologize. There is a lot of tension when both of them have to be in the same classroom," she said as the frown deepened.

"Well, I hope they do something about it soon," said Florona while crossing her arms. "I hate seeing them be so hostile towards each other, it's like they don't even want to acknowledge that the other exists!"

Plaxum nodded. "You know, me and the others in prom committee were talking about them a few weeks ago. Remember that, Shay?"

Shay shook her head. "Which specific conversation? There's been many about them."

"The prom king and queen one."

"Oh, that one!"

Plaxum nodded. "Yeah, that one." Upon seeing Florona's confusion, she sighed. "Okay, so we were talking about how Keith and Katie have been best friends since freshman year and how everyone suspects that they're secretly together."

"That's the number one conspiracy theory at Altea High, fo be honest," said Florona while giggling. Plaxum smiled.

"Yeah, I know. So we were talking about how we could potentially make them prom queen and king just because they've been at the top of everyone's 'are they a couple or not' list."

Shay sighed. "That was when they were actually speaking to each other. How would we make them prom queen and king if they won't even look in the others direction? It's hopeless," she said woefully. Florona pouted.

"Shay, don't be pessimistic! Their friendship has been going strong for a long time, and I'm sure that they'll get over whatever happened," she said while sending Shay a comforting smile.

"And then there was also the possibility of Shay and Hunk being prom queen and king," said Plaxum while grinning playfully at Shay. The girl blushed and shook her head.

"No no, I think Keith and Pidge being Altea High's prom royalty for this year is better."

Plaxum's grin grew as she leaned against her car. "Seriously? I think you're just saying that because you know that you and Hunk would be the best prom queen and king. You two are literally the perfect match for each other."

"Start dating already!" Florona and Plaxum said in unison before falling into a fit of giggles as Shay sighed, smiling as her blush grew.

"Hunk is an amazing person, but I fear that I will not be a suitable girlfriend for him- why are you two looking at me like that?" She asked in confusion as the two other girls sent her skeptical looks.

"Seriously? You really think Hunk wouldn't date you? He practically adores you, and it's not secret," Florona stated factually.

Plaxum nodded. "I say you should go for it."

Shay sighed again, her blush dying down as she smirked. "Just like I say that you should go for Lance?" She teased, grinning in satisfaction upon seeing how Plaxum flushed a pretty shade of pink.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she muttered while opening her car door. Florona got into the passenger side, Shay sitting in the middle of the backseat before grinning.

"Yes you do," she teased. Plaxum shook her head, turning back to look at Shay with a raised brow. "If I ask Lance out for prom, you have to ask Hunk out for prom. Deal?"

Shay smiled. "I know you aren't going to do it, so yes." Plaxum exchanged a look with Florona, who just sighed as a pout appeared on her face.

"If only Keith and Katie would go to prom together," she muttered glumly. Plaxum's smile dropped and so did Shay's, the two girls looking to the side with a frown.

"Same," was the only thing Plaxum said before starting the car up and pulling out of the school parking lot. After a few moments of silence, Shay spoke up softly.

"Do you think they will?"

"They have to," said Plaxum while glaring at the road in front of her. "They have to." 

* * *

"So Coran made you guys go to Altea High at nine in the morning on a _Saturday_ for _prom planning_?" Asked Ezor incredulously, her eyes bulging out as she stared at Pidge.

The girl just shrugged, taking a sip of her smoothie. "I'm used to it."

"He's really going all out for this year, huh?"

Pidge nodded. "Probably because we're the last of the graduates that he's actually known for years. I think we're his favorite graduating class," she said while turning to look at Acxa.

"You know, we got some ideas down and I kinda want to have there be two prom queen, two prom kings and a regular prom queen and king."

Acxa raised a brow. "Wouldn't that take away the whole purpose of there being traditionally one prom queen? I don't think Principal Coran would approve of that, no matter how amazing that would be."

Ezor smirked. "Speak for yourself! I would love to be prom queen, and now there's double the chances!"

Acxa looked at her skeptically. "What man is going to go out with you to prom?"

Ezor opened her mouth to respond before abruptly shutting it closed, sitting back in her chair. Zethrid and Narti snickered, smirking as Acxa winked at Pidge and took a sip of her drink.

"Besides Ezor, you can go with Acxa," teased Pidge. She smiled upon noticing how both girls started blushing, making eye contact with each other before looking away, dopey smiles on their faces. Zethrid pretended to gag.

"That is some disgusting shit if I do say so myself," she said while shaking her head. Narti snickered.

"The only disgusting 'shit' here is you pining after Tight Jeans Hank during the beginning of sophomore year," she said. Acxa and Ezor burst out laughing, Pidge struggling to hide her smile as Zethrid flushed red.

"Narti!"

"Boom."

Pidge smirked. "Oh this is a story I want to hear."

Ezor grinned. "Okay so, at Olkarion High there was this kid named Hank right? Well, he wore tight jeans all the time- his booty was popping, by the way- and Zethrid was so obsessed with him."

"She daydreamed about him during class," supplied Acxa, smiling. "It was her 'forbidden romance' because he was from our rival school."

Pidge grinned. "I can't believe you liked someone from Olkarion High," she said. Zethrid groaned, letting her face fall onto the table.

"Kill me now."

"She got over him because he turned out to be a complete jackass, and she got bored going after boys so she started taking interest in girls, but it lasted for a good few months," said Ezor while smirking. "It was gold though."

Narti nodded, smirking. "Golden."

Zethrid groaned. "Please shut up about my love life. How was I supposed to know that not even a few months later I would turn out to be hella lesbian? At least I had a crush on someone," she said while raising her head to look pointedly at Narti. Narti just shrugged.

"How would you know what I feel? My heart is a hurricane, and only I know what's in it," she stated plainly before taking a sip of her smoothie. The other blinked and looked at her with strange looks.

"Is she always this deep about her feelings?" Asked Pidge. Acxa shrugged.

"She never talks about them."

"I might be almost blind but my ears work perfectly fine," said Narti while side eyeing the two. Ezor sighed, smiling dreamily.

"I've had multiple crushes on people. My love life is all over the place!"

"No it's not; I'm right here."

Pidge laughed upon seeing how Ezor's eyes widened as she turned to look at Acxa.

"Oh I know, but before I found the most amazing girlfriend I was the one who had thousands of boyfriends."

"Yeah, she used them to cope with the fear of rejection from Acxa," muttered Zethrid. Narti grinned, biting her lip to try to hide her smile.

Ezor glared playfully at her. "Okay then, Miss 'I know everything about everyone's love life.'"

Zethrid shook her head. "No I don't. I don't know Pidge's."

All eyes turned towards the girl, who choked on her drink once her name was brought up. She rapidly pounded on her chest, trying to stop coughing.

"W-what is there to tell?"

Ezor looked at her with a bored expression. "You seriously can't expect us to believe that you didn't like someone before you started dating Lotor. We know that you hate human beings, but you must have made an exception for someone."

"You're parading around with one of Altea's cutest guys and you expect us to believe that you don't like someone?" Asked Zethrid incredulously. Pidge raised a brow.

"You really think Lance is cute?"

"I meant that robotics teacher. I may be lesbian, but I would make an exception for him. Have you seen those arms? Crush me with them please," she said while moaning. Acxa threw an extra straw at her, grimacing.

"Please don't ever do that again."

Zethrid shrugged. "He's the only exception."

Pidge shook her head. "Shiro is kind of good looking I guess. But I would never do that to Allura. Besides, there are cuter people than him."

"It's Keith then," said Acxa in a bored tone. Pidge's eyes widened before she scowled, crossing her arms and looking towards the side.

"I don't know who you're talking about. That name doesn't ring a bell."

Ezor raised a brow. "You guys still aren't talking? I thought you would have gotten over it by now."

"Life isn't like that, Ezor. Sometimes people are so shitty that you can't forgive them, no matter how much time you spent with them."

"Okay wait I'm confused. Why exactly did you guys stop talking? You've been kinda vague about it," Ezor said while furrowing her brows.

"Did he hurt you? Can I punch him? I bet he hurt you," Zethrid said as she rubbed her hands together. "If he hurt you I will fight!"

"Thanks, we get the picture," Ezor said dryly. "But seriously, what happened? You were buddy buddy with him and now it's just awkward ignoring."

"The tension in your English class was 'unbearable' according to everyone who has it with you guys," Acxa supplied while crossing her arms. "No secrets. What happened?"

Pidge sighed and hit her lip. "You guys are going to really want to punch him."

"Oh I've wanted to punch him since day one but that's besides the point."

Pidge sent Zethrid an unimpressed look before frowning. "He may or may not have called me a slut after blowing up about me not hanging out with him anymore."

Zethrid growled. "That's it, I have to punch him."

"Ditto. What a dick!" Ezor Exclaimed indignantly. "Who does he think he is? You haven't even had a boyfriend and he calls you a slut for what reason? His jealousy?"

Narti sighed. "I knew he was stupid, but not that stupid."

"A slut is a term for a woman who has had sex with a lot of people. You haven't dated a soul, much less had sex with one," Acxa said, her frown deepening before her eyes widened.

"Is this about Lotor?"

Pidge snapped her neck up and looked at Acxa with confusion clearly written all over her features. "How did you know about what happened with me and Lotor?"

Ezor waved her hand dismissively. "Lotor tells us a lot of the things. Plus, he was uh, excited about you kissing him. He adores you!" She chuckled nervously, earning a glare from none other than Acxa.

Pidge frowned. "I guess that makes sense. But back to my dumbass neighbor; he's such a bitch. I honestly can't stand to even look at him now. All he said that day hurt me and the ass didn't even apologize!"

"Allura tells me, 'oh you know how he is, he didn't mean it!' while Matt is in a weird state of wanting us to forgive each other but be wary of each other for a while and I'm so annoyed!" She exclaimed angrily, kicking the table.

"What really annoys me the most is how easily he broke me," she whispered while looking down at her hands.

They say in silence for a while, the only noise around them being the Ezor placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I know that Keith was an ass, but can you tell us exactly what he said? It might help you feel better if you rang," she suggested.

Pidge closed her eyes. "First he started yelling at me for kissing Lotor. Said something about me 'kissing the enemy' which is total bullshit. Then he started yelling at me for leaving them, telling me that I was leaving my friends for people I barely knew. He said that you guys were fake. Then he called me a slut for kissing Lotor, and after that I just remember saying that I wasn't going to talk to him anymore."

"Did you say anything or did you just let him say all that?" Asked Acxa.

"You know, I should be more upset about Keith saying that we're fake but I'm honestly just mad that he's causing you so much pain."

Pidge snorted softly and shook her head, hugging herself. "He's a jackass. Don't waste your time and skills on him," she muttered while placing her head on the table.

Zethrid frowned. "But he hurt you. I will fight-"

"Zethrid, she doesn't want you to fight him. Let's respect her wishes," said Acxa gently while frowning at Zethrid. The larger girl crossed her arms.

"I could've turned him into a pancake."

"The only pancake is his ass," muttered Pidge. Ezor grimaced, pulling Acxa to the side as Zethrid and Narti tried to get Pidge to finish her smoothie.

"You really think she's mad at him?"

Acxa shook her head. "I think she's more hurt than mad. Remember our whole relationship problem?"

Ezor shuddered. "Don't remind me. That's one the reasons why I'm starting to became wary of Lotor now."

"Right. Well, remember how we weren't exactly mad at each other and how we were just hurt? That's how she's feeling now."

"Do you think they'll get over it?"

"He called her a slut, Ezor. That isn't something to be taken lightly, no matter how angry the person was."

"Keith is a big jealous baby. Pidge is better with us anyways." Ezor quickly glanced at Pidge, who was looking at Zethrid and Narti with a tired expression.

Acxa frowned. "Yeah. But, remember what Lotor said."

"Don't get too close, I know. But, I've been thinking," said Ezor while taking Acxa's hand with her own, intertwining their fingers under the table.

"That's dangerous," Acxa joked.

Ezor snorted. "Look who's talking. Anyways, I've been thinking about stopping Lotor and not letting him do you know what."

Acxa's eyes widened. "You're asking to be killed," she said softly. "If Lotor knew-"

"If I knew what?" Asked a voice from next to her. Acxa froze and turned up towards him, her face devoid of any emotions.

"Nothing, Lotor."

Ezor raised a brow, letting go of Acxa's hand under the table to cross her arms across her chest. "You're late," she said pointedly. Lotor waved her off.

"Yes yes, I'm aware. I had to discuss some things with my father, and I lost track of time."

Pidge finally lifted her head from the table, tilting it to the side to look at Lotor. "Your father?"

Lotor nodded. "Yes, my father. We had to discuss some business ideas for his company," he said, clearing his throat. Acxa and Ezor exchanged looks, distancing themselves a bit from each other.

"But anyways, how are you?"

"Same as yesterday," replied Pidge jokingly. "Although I am feeling kind of tired. I think it's probably because Coran made us go to Altea High at nine in the morning."

Lotor raised a brow. "At nine? For what?"

"Prom planning."

Those words made a smirk appear on Lotor's face, Zethrid frowning and Narti glaring up at him through her bangs.

"Prom planning?"

"Prom planning," confirmed Pidge. "It was stupid though. All we did was go over what we had basically already had. We never make any damn progress because everyone is sleep deprived and bored."

"You want the big kaboom, basically," added Ezor as she smirked. "No offense, but Coran should let you guys sleep in if he's going to make you go to school on Saturday."

"It's a crime to go to school on a Saturday," muttered Zethrid while crossing her arms. "I mean, who does that?"

"Me," Pidge said blandly. 

"Rest in peace."

Pidge sent her a small smile. "It's fine. Although, it is stupid. The only good thing is that Coran brings us donuts and coffee. If you're late to the meeting, chances are you'll be stuck with whatever donut is left."

"Well that's it, sign me up for prom committee!"

Acxa looked at Ezor with a tired expression. "Your grandma literally owns a bakery, Ezor."

"So? Nonna doesn't let me take any of her treats unless I pay. I suffer!" Whined Ezor. Pidge snorted.

"Just take it without her noticing."

"That'll be like your love life," replied Ezor with a teasing grin. "Your heart gets stolen and you don't even notice it."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Okay yeah sure. I obviously noticed if Lotor is here," she said while glancing at him with a smile. Lotor smiled back, crossing his arms as he slid into the chair next to her.

Zethrid pretended to retch behind him, Acxa sighing as she sat in her chair next to Ezor.

"Zethrid, I can hear you."

"My bad, Lotor."

Lotor sighed and waved her off. "It's alright, Zethrid. I'm more interested to listen to what Pidge has to say about prom though, if you wouldn't mind being quiet."

Zethrid rolled her eyes before sitting down. "Sure, I don't give a fuck."

Pidge raised a brow. "What do you want to know?"

Lotor shrugged innocently, leaning on the table while looking at her with a fixed smile. "I want to know if it's even worth showing up, that's all. I'm not a big fan of school parties, I'll have you know."

"But you threw a party where everyone was invited."

"Ah, that's because I was in my own home. Although my parents did find out soon after, but that isn't relevant," he said while a frown tugged at the edges of his lips.

Pidge looked at him in confusion, turning towards Acxa for an explanation. She just shook her head and motioned for Pidge to look at Lotor. Pidge frowned before turning to look at Lotor, hand extending out hesitantly to touch his forearm.

"Are you okay?"

Lotor looked at her hand before looking up at her. Sighing softly, he nodded. "I'm alright. But really, I would love to hear about what your plans for prom are."

"I don't know if Coran would really like me telling you anything though," she said nervously while twiddling a strand of her with her finger. Lotor took her hand away, lightly tugging on the strand of hair.

"I'm sure that what he doesn't know won't hurt him," he said while smiling at her. Pidge looked at him strangely before sighing.

"I guess so."

Lotor's smile grew even more. "Excellent! So start from the beginning. I don't want to miss a single detail."

"Well, first we talked about colors for the twentieth time since we started planning this thing. We haven't made a full decision because it's up to the seniors to vote for what theme they want since they are the ones graduating and the cause for the whole thing-"

"You're rambling," cut in Ezor while looking at Pidge with a small smile on her face. Pidge smiled sheepishly, crossing her arms.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that. Anyways, all we did talk about colors and potential theme but we have to have the seniors vote on it."

"What?" Asked Lotor.

"The choice for colors is between traditional colors for prom like blue, gold and silver but the other color choice is with the LGBTQ colors for representation. I'm going more towards the second choice, but there are homophobes at Altea so who knows," she said while shrugging.

Lotor raised a brow. "Would Coran let you do that?"

Pidge snorted and smirked. "Please. Coran was on board, but it was Rax who was concerned about it not working out. Trust me, I know that we're going to end up with those colors as the theme."

Lotor nodded. "So the prom, it's going to be held at Altea High?"

Ezor wrinkled her nose. "If the prom is being held in the gym, I'm not going."

Zethrid shrugged. "I'm going for the snacks if they're ordering from a decent place."

Pidge smiled. "Don't worry, the food is being catered from Vrepit Sal's."

"Isn't that the restaurant that tastes like cardboard?"

"No- well, yes? The food tastes amazing now that someone sent an anonymous tip to Sal for his cooking and practically everyone gathers there on Saturday nights. Trust me, the food is going to taste amazing."

Lotor tugged on her hair gently, causing Pidge to turn around to look at him with a confused look. "What?"

"Is prom being held in the Altea High gymnasium or not?"

Pidge frowned. "Why'd you pull my hair?"

"You weren't paying attention to me."

She stared at him with furrowed brows and frown before she crossed her arms. "Okay jeez, I'm paying attention to you now."

Lotor smiled as he let go of her hair, leaning back in his chair. "Thank you. Now, would you mind answering the question?"

Pidge sighed. "It's not in the gym. Coran got permission from Alfor for us to be able to use the Castle of Lions for prom. What?" She asked, seeing all their confused expressions.

"What's the Castle of Lions?"

Pidge groaned. "You're telling me that you don't know it either? You're just as bad as that one kid with too long bangs in prom committee," she muttered.

"That's exactly what we're telling you and we want an explanation," said Lotor. Pidge shook her head.

"You can look up what the Castle of Lions is. I don't feel like explaining."

"But I want an explanation," Lotor said while sitting up straighter and looking directly into her eyes. "I don't feel like looking it up."

"What the hell?"

"See, it irks me that you assume that we would know what the Castle of Lions is."

"Why wouldn't you know what it is?!" Asked Pidge incredulously. "It's the most famous part of Altea University!"

"Has it ever occurred to you that we don't have the same perspective?" Upon seeing Pidge's baffled expression, Lotor pursed his lips before he continued to speak. "See, all of us have lived here all our lives, yes. But don't you ever think about how we just transferred to Altea High this year?"

"We have been living on the other side of this city for all our lives; living in the part of the city that is apparently the worst side of the city despite it having various upper class families living within it."

"As far as we know, Altea High was irrelevant because we didn't care for Altea's 'better side,' no, we only cared about our own side of the city which is deemed a joke despite there being more decent people there who actually treat us like actual human beings and not some outcasts," Lotor said sharply while glaring at the shorter girl.

"Lotor I'm-"

"Sorry? Yes, I've heard that many times before. But the thing is, no matter how many times you'll say sorry you'll keep assuming like everyone always does."

An awkward silence feel between them, Pidge looking to the side while running her arms. Acxa nudged Ezor, who had her arms crossed over her chest.

Zethrid exchanged a look with Narti, who shook her head and looked to the side. Ezor groaned internally, clearing her throat to look at Pidge.

"So what were you saying again about the Castle of Lions or whatever it is?" Asked Ezor while looking pointedly at Lotor. Pidge looked up at Ezor, taking a deep breath before nodding.

"Okay yeah, so back to the Castle of Lions. It's basically the biggest building on campus, and it has a party salon in there but is only used for special events. There are classrooms there too, but they're for the more uh, advanced classes I guess? Either way, they're locked when parties go on apparently. So yeah, that's the Castle of Lions," she finished awkwardly without looking up at Lotor.

"Thank you," he said while flashing her a small smile. Shivers ran down her spine, her mind spinning as she recalled what happened.

_Why am I scared?_

"So I'm assuming that prom is going to be the best event for the seniors," mused Lotor while rubbing his knuckles with his thumb. A smirk appeared on his features. "Amazing."

"Why is it amazing? It's only going to be full of hormonal teenagers sneaking drinks in past the security guards. The only good thing that can come out of this is LGBTQ representation so that everyone can feel welcome," Pidge said, suddenly irritated.

Lotor's smirk dropped, and was replaced by a frown. "I don't like your tone."

"I don't like your choice of wording," replied Pidge with an hand on her hip. Acxa screamed internally while Zethrid looked on with concerned amusement, Narti not paying attention as Ezor face palmed. Lotor shook his head.

"Look, I don't want to fight in public but I apologize if my wording offended you," said Lotor. "I don't know why it would have, but apparently it did. I don't want any more drama outside of my house, so I'll just apologize here. I'm sorry, Katie."

After a brief moment of awkward silence, Pidge sighed and frowned. "Okay fine. Wherever."

Lotor coughed, standing up and smiling at all of them. "I will leave you in these girl's wonderful hands. I trust that you will not act out again, Pidge," said Lotor in a warning tone. Pidge scoffed.

"It's my nature to act out. If you were-" She stopped mid sentence, her mouth clamping shut, eyes wide. _Was I really about to bring Keith up? What the hell?_

"If I were what?" Asked Lotor. Pidge looked up at him and shook her head.

"Nothing. I'm sorry," she muttered, Lotor smiling as if he had won some kind of silent battle between the two.

"Alright. As I was saying, I must go now."

"Where are you going?"

"Must you know everything? No, you mustn't. Do not question my decision, Pidge."

"I'm just asking where you're going!"

"And I am telling you that you don't need to know everything."

"Some kind of boyfriend you are," she muttered as she sunk in her chair. Lotor smiled.

"One of a kind, if I do say so myself. Goodbye, Pidge. Don't do anything stupid." He then turned and walked away, leaving Pidge to stare at her smoothie with a prominent pout on her face.

Ezor glared at Lotor's back before turning to look at Pidge. "Are you okay?"

"My boyfriend is being a jackass, yes I'm totally okay."

Acxa winced. "He's just having some issues at home, and he gets like this after meeting his parents."

Pidge frowned. "Does he not trust me?"

"No no of course he does! It's just that he's Lotor, you know what I mean?" Asked Ezor. "Trust me, he adores you! Just give him some time. He doesn't really like interacting with people much after meeting up with any of his parents."

"It's 'either of his parents,' Ezor."

"I'm being attacked by my own girlfriend and I don't know how I feel about it."

Zethrid snorted. "You get sidetracked too easily Ezor. Listen Pidge, Lotor will be a dick but he does care about you. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked you to date him."

Pidge sighed. "I guess."

"Were you about to say 'Keith' before you suddenly shut up?" Cut in Narti while looking directly at her. Pidge's eyes widened.

"No!" She quickly responded. Narti shook her head.

"I'm not stupid, you know."

"I know you aren't, but I was not going to say his name!"

"Who's name?"

"His!"

"Who is 'his?' I've never heard of a name like that."

"Keith's name!" Saying his name felt strangely relieving, and she realized how much she had missed saying it. She missed _him_.

Suddenly, a tear fell down her face. It was followed by another one, and soon she was full out crying, her mouth trembling. Acxa and Ezor looked at her in shock.

"Pidge are you okay?" Frantically asked Ezor. "What happened?"

"Man Lotor being a jackass must have really hurt her," muttered Zethrid. Narti shook her head.

"It's not about him."

Pidge shook her head, aggressively trying to wipe her eyes. "I'm okay," she muttered, her voice trembling. Acxa shook her head.

"No you're not. Tell us what's going on, Pidge."

"I'm fine," she said, trying to stop the tears cascading down her cheeks. Ezor looked at her softly, taking one of her hands into her own while rubbing her thumb over Pidge's knuckles.

"You can tell us what's going on. I promise we won't tell Lotor," she said with sincerity. Acxa immediately turned to look at her, Ezor shaking her head and glaring slightly at Acxa, as if saying, 'don't.'

Pidge took a deep breath, clearing her throat. "I just-. I miss him," she admitted, her voice cracking. "I miss our late night talks, I miss the late night rides to the park, I miss our adventures, I miss his laugh, I miss _him_."

Ezor's eyes widened as she leaned in to hug Pidge. "I'm so sorry," she muttered.

"What are you sorry for?" Asked Pidge with a small voice. "It was his decision to say those words."

"I'm so sorry that he said that to you, and I'm sorry that I caused it by encouraging you to go to the party knowing that he wasn't going to like it. I'm so sorry."

Pidge shook her head, wiping her eyes. "It's not your fault. I'm being a baby and crying over something that happened when I should just let it go, but I can't."

Acxa pursed her lips. "You have a right to be mad, but you also have the power to forgive him."

"I'm too stubborn to do that," Pidge admitted as her tears stopped falling. "I can't do that, because he's wrong."

"You're both wrong," said Narti. "You need to forgive him, and he needs to forgive you."

"He can't do that if I'm still with Lotor. He doesn't trust him."

"Screw that," Zethrid said suddenly. "Forgive him, and you'll feel better. It's up to him if he wants to forgive you or not, but you can be satisfied knowing that you already did what you could."

Pidge tilted her head, looking at Zethrid. "You're kind of wise when you want to be."

"What can I say? I'm a complicated person."

Ezor chuckled lightly before turned back to Pidge. "I agree with Zethrid. It's like I say, people either accept and move on, or don't accept and stick with the past. You're not being a baby for crying over what happened, because you were hurt. You can't keep all those emotions bottled up forever, you know," she said while looking Pidge straight in her eyes.

Pidge nodded. "I know. But it's just hard," she admitted while rubbing her shoulders with her hands. "It's hard to forget when it's hurt you for a while."

Ezor nodded. "I know, but the least you can do is forgive so you feel more at peace. Just try it, okay? It doesn't have to be soon, but do it when the time feels right."

Pidge sighed and smiled up at her. "You know, you give really good advice. Ever consider becoming a psychologist?" Teased Pidge, the others relieved that she stopped crying.

"I haven't even thought of what I want to major in college," admitted Ezor. Pidge snorted.

"You and me both. I want to do computer science, but also maybe something in the medical field."

"What kind of doctor would you be?" Asked Acxa, her interest piqued as she heard Pidge talk about the medical field. By the way Pidge's face lit up, she knew she had asked the right question.

Everyone listened to her, and laughed whenever she said something funny. Everything felt right, but Acxa felt as if there was something _wrong_. She was torn between keeping secrets from Lotor and supporting Pidge.

She just wanted everything to be over with. Watching her friends and girlfriend laugh along with Pidge, she knew that she was going to have to make a choice one day.

One day. But not today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch. I realized that it's impossible to write only 5k chapters at this point lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	20. Don’t Blame Me, Love Made Me Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has a serious talk with Colleen and Acxa, Coran has crazy health project ideas and Lotor is just a bitch.

The silence in Aiko's household was awkward and unwelcome. Ever since November, she had not seen her son around his best friend at all, and it concerned her. 

It didn't help that Shiro wouldn't tell her anything either. Everytime she asked him about it, he would awkwardly smile at her and tell her not to worry. How could she not worry when her son was locking himself up in his room immediately after he got home from school? 

Things were quickly spiraling downward in her household with Keith. Her son, who was usually smirking and full of sarcasm was now a shadow of his old self, sulking in his room with the curtains drawn and his grades slipping. 

His grades were _slipping_. He was a straight A’s kid getting C’s and B’s on his exams, something that had never happened before. 

She knew that in every friendship there wasn't always peace, and that there were bound to be arguments, but she couldn't understand what had happened between Keith and Pidge. Was it really that bad that Keith had stopped putting an effort to keep his grades up or being social? 

It just went to show that she was the only one who could get him to care about things. She had to talk to her son. That's why she found herself sitting at the dinner table with Shiro and Keith sitting awkwardly next to each other, Aiko and Allura sitting next to each other across the two fidgeting boys. 

Keith broke the silence. "Mom, what are you doing?"

"What I should've done a long time ago."

Shiro's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No-"

"Takashi."

Shiro shut his mouth and he sat back, nervously eyeing his mother. "Sorry."

Aiko nodded. "Keith, I want to speak to you about something."

"I'm listening."

Aiko folded her hands together, taking in a deep breath. "I couldn't help but notice that you haven't been hanging out with Katie for a while." 

Keith flinched and furrowed his brows, looking to the side. "And? Maybe I like personal space now and then."

"That's the thing, Keith. Ever since we moved in, you've never left her side. You're acting suspicious, and I want to know what happened."

"Nothing happened! I'm just growing out of certain friendships, mom!" 

"You don't just grow out of a twelve year friendship, Keith! Especially if you've been crushing on the person for who knows how long," Aiko said pointedly. 

Shiro tugged on his sweater awkwardly, looking at Allura, his expression screaming 'help me.' Allura could only send him a sympathetic smile and shake her head. 

"I have not been crushing on her!"

"Keith, I may be old but I am not blind. Anyone can see how much you adore her," Aiko said sadly. "I know you have a thing for Pidge, and that you'd go to the end of the world for her. She could tell you to drink toilet water and you know very damn well that you would do it."

Keith wrinkled his nose. "Mom, that's disgusting. You're making it sound like I'm some lovesick kid who's been pining for years!"

Allura face palmed. "Keith, that's because you are."

"Allura, who's side are you on?"

"Your mother's," replied Allura with a shrug. 

Keith scowled. "Well, thanks for the support. I really appreciate it," he said sarcastically while leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Bullshit."

"Keith!"

"I'm not sorry."

Aiko frowned. "What happened to you? Keith, I'm genuinely worried. You've been locked up in your room like some kind of vampire and you're not putting any effort into anything anymore!"

"I am putting effort into things!"

"Keith, your grades are starting to slip and your social life is going down the drain. I got a call from Coran voicing his concerns because you're one of Altea High's top students and you know what he told me?"

"That I'm failing?"

"No! He said that you're not focused in his class, you don't know what's going on and your test scores are all coming back low! You're a straight A student getting B's and C's, and I can't understand why you're suddenly failing your classes."

"Has it ever occurred to you that I'm not perfect? Sorry I'm not Shiro, but not everyone can get straight A's, mom," Keith replied crossly. 

Aiko groaned in frustration. "Keith, I don't know what happened between you and Katie that's making you act like this, but you have to fix it. Your grades are suffering, your social life is suffering, and I'm suffering seeing you suffer."

Shiro coughed, looking at Keith out of the corner of his eyes. "Yeah Keith, mom has a point. We need you to fix it."

"Oh shut up Shiro. You're probably the one who made mom talk to me," hissed Keith through clenched teeth. "This is bullshit! You know why I can't say anything!"

"Keith that's enough!" Allura suddenly said sharply. Keith blinked, his scowl softening as he looked at her. 

"What?"

"I'm sick and tired of you acting like you can hide this forever from your mother! She deserves to know. Perhaps she would understand what you're going through if you explained."

"Allura, that is the most stupidest-"

"Allura, that's a wonderful idea," Aiko said while smiling forcefully. "Would you mind telling me what happened?"

"Of course. You see, Keith and Pidge had an argument where he yelled at her because he was jealous and since he's Keith, he said some very uh, inappropriate things that hurt her deeply," Allura said. Keith scowled. 

"Thanks, Allura."

"What sort of, 'inappropriate things?'" Aiko asked while looking at Keith suspiciously. 

Allura hesitated before opening her mouth again. "He called her a uh, slut?" She said slowly, frantically glancing between Keith and Aiko. 

Aiko's eyes widened and she turned to look at Keith, who had slumped down in his chair as he sent Allura a death glare, twenty different ways of how he could murder her running through his head. 

"Fuck you."

"I had to tell her," Allura said while frowning before getting up. "I'm going to go out for a while. Shiro, come with me?"

Shiro looked relieved and he nodded, kissing his mom on the cheek before he left with Allura, leaving Aiko and Keith to stare at each other in silence. Aiko eventually broke it after Keith raised his brows expectantly. 

"Keith, why would you say such a thing?!"

"I don't know," he replied shortly. 

"The audacity! Do you know how much being called that word can hurt someone? Do you know?" She demanded, her brows furrowed as she looked at her son angrily. "Do you know how much that hurts? What did that girl ever do to you?!"

"I don't know!"

"Oh no you're not getting out of this one, young man!"

"Mom, I have to go to school! I'm over this!" 

"You're not walking away from this, Keith! I demand to know what possessed you to say something so hurtful! What did Katie ever do to you?"

Keith growled, turning around to face his mom, his face looking downright murderous. "I said that I'm over this!" He turned on his heel, stomping down the stairs as his mother stood in the front entrance. 

"Keith! We will talk about this later!"

Keith ignored her, instead stomping down the side walk. _Stupid mom_ , he thought angrily while his brows twitched. He slowed his pace down as a familiar car pulled up next to him, groaning internally. 

_Oh no, oh no, please no-_

"Hey Keith! Want a lift?"

Keith forced a smile, shaking his head. "I think I'll be alright. Thank you though, Colleen."

"Nonsense! Get in the back, there's plenty of room."

He sighed. "I really don't have a choice, do I?"

"Keith," Colleen said playfully. "Just get in, it's not like we're going to kidnap you. Although you might want to hurry it up; I have to meet up with a few colleagues at the hospital before my rounds start."

Keith sighed and opened the car door, nearly having a heart attack as he saw Pidge sitting on the opposite side of the car. She was staring intently at her phone, making it extremely obvious that she did not want to talk or even look at him. 

He sighed before sliding into the car, shutting the door behind him and putting his seatbelt on. "Um."

"Buckled in?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, lets go." Colleen drove in the direction of the school, glancing back every five seconds. "You two are awfully quiet back there. You two don't have anything to talk about?"

"No," replied Pidge flatly while texting Ezor. 

Colleen raised a brow. "Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh."

Colleen sighed, glancing back at Keith and flashing him a small smile. "She stayed up late doing a project yesterday. Maybe you can get her to talk?"

"Uh."

"It can be about anything, I promise I won't judge! I just miss you guys talking constantly, that's all," she said while looking at Keith with a hopeful expression. 

Keith sighed. "I don't know what to talk about."

"How about the proper ways to use words so that you won't attack people with them?" Pidge asked, still not looking at him as she continued texting Ezor. 

"I'm not familiar with that."

"Figured as much."

"Ah finally! Conversation!" Exclaimed Colleen with glee, looking over her shoulder, a smile on her face. "Such a sight for sore eyes."

"Mom, eyes on the road," Pidge said with a bored tone. 

"My bad. But keep talking!"

"Oh how about we start with the term slut? Are you familiar with that term, Keith?" Pidge asked sweetly, still refusing to meet his eyes. 

Keith felt his mouth go dry and he licked his lips. "No, I'm not familiar with that term."

Pidge scoffed. "That was obvious. A slut is a term for a woman who has slept with multiple people, and not for someone who just, I don't know, kissed someone they actually liked," she said, finally looking up at him with fury blazing in her eyes. 

"But I guess you wouldn't know that, would you?"

Keith bit his lip. "I don't know."

"Yeah." 

Colleen cleared her throat, stopping the car in front of the school. "Well, as much as I would love for you two to continue this interesting chat, I'm afraid that we have reached our destination."

"Thank god," muttered Pidge before rushing out of the car, walking up the stairs to meet up with the girls. Keith shook his head, opening the car door. 

"Keith?"

He froze in his tracks. "Yes?"

Colleen shook her head before looking at him darkly. "I don't know exactly what my daughter meant by what she was saying, but if I find out that you were the cause for this very obvious rift between the two of you, I will not forgive you easily."

Keith gulped, looking at Colleen with fear in his eyes. "O-of course, I understand."

"But I also hope that you two can fix whatever is going on between the two of you." 

Keith looked at her with a confused look. "I'm sorry, what?"

Colleen sighed. "As much as I would resent you for hurting my daughter, I would be lying if I said that I wouldn't want you to make up with her. Believe it or not, my daughter does still care about you. So please, fix this. I'm assuming your mother talked to you about it this morning too?"

"She tried to, but I needed to go to school."

Colleen sighed. "You sound just like Katie. Listen to me, Keith. My daughter might be hurt, and she might hate you, but she won't ever stop caring about you. Just, please fix this, okay? It hurts us all seeing you two act so cold towards each other."

Keith looked at her with furrowed brows, sighing and looking down at his shoes. "Believe me, I would love that too. I'm just not ready, you know what I mean?"

"I'm not sure I do. But if you aren't ready to talk to her now, please do it sometime before you graduate. I don't want you two going off to college being bitter."

Keith nodded. "I understand. I uh, have to go to class now. Coran is going to kill me if I don't get to class on time but uh, nice chat I guess?"

Colleen nodded. "Go ahead. And Keith?"

Keith stopped, looking back at her with a confused look. "Yes?"

"Don't let this be the downfall of your grades please. You've fought so hard for them, and it hurts seeing them slip because of something like this."

Keith quietly nodded before getting out of the car, closing the door and walking up the stairs. Lance met him at the top, arms crossed and brows raised. 

"Well look who finally decided to show up!"

"Sorry, sorry. I was just talking some things over with Colleen."

Lance gasped. "You? Talking to Pidge's mom? I knew it was only a matter of time before she found out what you did!"

"Hey would you keep it down? I don't want the entire world knowing what happened," whispered Keith harshly. Lance pouted. 

"Hey, you brought this upon yourself when you said _that_ to Pidge," Lance retorted while crossing his arms. "You don't have anyone to blame except yourself, mullet."

"Enough with my hair already!"

"Lance, why are you bothering Keith?" Hunk asked, joining them from behind. "Hey Keith."

Keith raised a hand before letting it fall, looking at Lance with an annoyed expression. "Yeah Lance, why are you bothering Keith?"

"Because you're an ass?"

"I didn't know we were talking about you."

"Hey!"

Hunk shook his head. "You two really need to stop. But seriously, why were you bothering Keith?" Hunk asked as he looked at Lance. 

Lance sighed. "You're making this so boring," he complained. "Keith got yelled at by Pidge's mom apparently, and now he's telling me to be quiet because he doesn't want the whole world to know how much of a dick he is."

"I just said for you to keep it down," Keith said while scowling. "Don't twist my words."

"Oh I'm twisting. I'm twisting them hard, baby."

"Don't call me that. Hunk, tell him to stop being annoying."

Hunk sighed. "You two are going to make my head explode before Coran does. Oh, did you hear about that weird new project he's planning on doing?"

Keith raised a brow. "You do realize the guy is the definition of weird, right? You're going to need to be more specific, buddy," he teased  lightly with a small smile on his face. 

Hunk shrugged. "Fair point, but have you ever had a teacher make you take care of a sack of flour while pretending it's your baby?"

Keith and Lance looked at each other with confused looks, turning to look at Hunk with wide eyes. " _What?_ ” 

As if on cue, the bell rang and everyone started heading inside. Hunk shrugged as he walked inside, followed by two very confused boys. 

"Don't look at me, I'm just as confused as you guys are. It's probably true though, Shay told me and she's Coran's assistant."

Lance winced. "Hunk, are you sure she isn't trying to prank you?"

"Have you met Shay? She's a sweetheart," Hunk said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Keith snickered. 

"Yeah, the sweetheart that got detention last week."

"She was there for embezzlement, Keith. Come on, what else do you think she would get it for? She's a total sweetheart!"

"Oh yeah, total sweetheart," drawled out Lance with a raised brow before a smirk took over his features. "Come on, why don't you just admit that you like her already?"

Hunk shook his head, the trio entering Coran's classroom and taking a seat next to the windows. "I don't have a crush on her. She's just a girl that I admire very much."

"She's not your rock collection, Hunk," stated the Cuban boy with raised brows. Hunk just shrugged before pulling out his notebook, ignoring Lance. 

Keith shook his head. "Lance, leave him alone."

"Oh so you want me to go back to bothering you, right?"

Keith glanced between Lance and Hunk, sighing and leaning over towards Hunk. "You know I love you, but I can't let him bother me. You understand, right?"

"Wow. Really feeling the love, Keith."

Keith shrugged, opening his mouth to retort before his eyes widened as he glanced at the door. Lance groaned. 

"Keith, maybe you could, I don't know, try to make it a little less obvious that you're staring?"

Keith bit his lip and shook his head, sinking lower in his seat as Acxa and Pidge walked into the room, taking a seat in the row directly beside Keith and Lance respectively. Acxa shot Keith a glare before turning around to whisper to Pidge, the shorter girl snorting before leaning down to take her books out. 

Keith groaned, tugging up the collar of his jacket. "Please end me," he whispered under his breath. Acxa smirked, looking down at her notebook as she started to write the date down. 

"That can be arranged."

Lance glanced between the two, clearing his throat and raising his hand. "Uh, Coran?"

Coran stopped writing on the board and looked at Lance with a smile. "Yes, my boy?"

"Is it true what everyone is saying about you?"

Coran hummed in response, placing a finger on his chin. "Depends on what it is, Lance. Everyone does like talking a lot about me," he said while chuckling. 

Hunk raised a brow, glancing over at Shay who was sitting next to him in the next row. She shrugged. 

"He likes being dramatic about his projects, you know that."

"True."

"No no I know, but it's about a project that everyone is saying that you're going to assign us today," said Lance. Coran's eyes widened and he gasped. 

"Oh, that rumor! Well, if it's what I think it is, then you're absolutely correct!"

Pidge raised a brow. "Can you tell us what it is then?"

Coran flashed her a smile. "Of course! You see, since this is a health class, I was thinking of spicing it up a bit so you wouldn't just be taking notes on the various body parts of a human body."

"So you're going to make us take notes on the body parts of an alien then? Will we finally know what body parts you have?" Asked a girl at the front of the class. 

Coran raised a brow. "If I were an alien, then rest assured that I would keep my body parts a secret. To put it short, no. I have decided that since you kids love to have unprotected sex, I need to give a project that you all need to learn what you're getting into if you happen to end up with a child."

"What the hell?!" Pidge asked in disgust from her seat behind Acxa. 

"What the _fuck_ ," Keith whispered while looking at Coran with a very confused face. Coran looked at all of their disgusted reactions with a smirk, crossing his arms. 

"If it's any consolation, I'm not giving you real babies."

"They'd never live long enough to see the sunset," said Pidge with a disbelief in her tone. 

"Exactly why I'm not giving you real babies. Instead, you're getting flour babies!" Coran exclaimed with a huge grin. "Now, you'll have to personalize them, and be extra careful with them! They'll be your child for today, and if destroyed, you'll fail with a fifty for this project. Look closely at who you're sitting next to. They will be your partner for the duration of this project," he said while grinning. 

Keith groaned as he slammed his head on his desk, Acxa glaring at her notebook while Lance looked at Pidge with wide eyes. "Oh no."

Pidge side eyed him before taking the bag of flour off of his desk which had been placed there moments before by Coran. "I'm taking care of it," she muttered before placing it on her desk. 

Coran shook his head from behind her. "No, it's a team effort! You two must work together to make sure it stays alive until tomorrow."

"It's going to end up as a baby chew toy if it stays with Lance, and I am not failing this class!"

"Too bad," Coran said before walking back up to the front of the class and taking a seat on his desk. "Now, onto the topic of today's class..."

Keith zoned out as he stared at the bag of flour on his desk, glancing frantically between it and Acxa. _I'm a dead man. My remains are going to be found somewhere in Miami_ , he thought. 

The period ended quickly, and once the bell rang, Keith stood up and looked at Acxa awkwardly. "I know us being partners isn't ideal, but I figured that I'd handle it in-"

"I'll take her now," Acxa said, successfully cutting him off without turning around to face him as she stuffed her notebook into her bag. "You'll get her later tonight."

"About that, you see, I have this crazy night planned and-"

"Stop making excuses, Keith," she said as she suddenly whirled around and looked at him with a glare. "We have to take care of her together, so we'll spend at least two hours together later today."

"Why can't it just be one?"

"Because two makes it seem like I actually care about this stupid project," she said while crossing her arms. "Give her to me," she demanded with outstretched hands. Keith dropped the bag of flour into her arms, Acxa wrapping one arm around it and placing her other hand on her hip. 

"We'll decorate her later at your house, and make sure there's food if you ever want to see the next sunrise," she threatened with a glare. Keith sighed and nodded. 

"Fine."

Acxa nodded and walked out the classroom door, catching up with Pidge who had her own flour baby in her arms. Keith groaned, walking out of the classroom with heavy feet and felt a wave of tiredness suddenly wash over him. 

This was not how he had envisioned himself passing his Thursday. He was a dead man  
walking.

* * *

"Why would you want to spend two hours with Keith?" 

Acxa stabbed her fork into her salad, looking at Ezor with a bored expression. "The flour baby project is the only reason I'm even interacting with him. You lucked out. I seriously would have preferred to do this with anyone other than Keith, even Zethrid who is probably going to kill her baby within a few hours."

Pidge scoffed. "More like Lance is going to kill our baby within a few hours. He tried decorating our flour baby and giving it features during study hall even though I made it pretty clear that we're doing it later, and he made a hole in our baby," she said exasperatedly while throwing her hands up. 

Ezor grinned, waving her fork teasingly in front of Pidge. "If your baby has a hole, I'm not sure you're going to be a good parent, Pidge."

"At least she isn't Lotor. Lotor and his partner gave their flour baby a bath and it turned into mush. I could hear Lotor screaming from a block down," mused Zethrid while chuckling. "Poor guy. He was going to buy another flour bag, but accepted his fate. He's mad though, I wouldn't approach him."

"Looks like you don't have to approach him, he's coming this way," muttered Narti before sticking a mozzarella stick into her mouth. Acxa sighed and crossed her arms, looking at Lotor with an extremely bored expression. 

"Hello ladies."

"You're late."

"Yes I'm aware of that, Acxa. I had to help my partner calm down and not have a panic attack because we gave the baby a bath."

"Lotor, it's a bag of flour. Flour and water do not mix," Ezor said while raising a brow and grinning. "I know you don't really like science, but you're good enough to understand that flour turns to mush when you mix it with water."

Lotor looked at her unimpressed, taking a seat down to Pidge and looking at her flor baby curiously. "Why does yours have a bandaid? Over its eye, nonetheless."

Pidge groaned. "It's a he, first of all. And secondly, my partner did something stupid and gave him a hole in his eye so now he's a pirate. I'm about to fail this class," she moaned before letting her head fall onto the table with a loud thud. "I don't know why I was paired up with this idiot," she mumbled under her breath. 

Lotor chuckled, taking one of her strands of hair into his fingers and twirled it methodically. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Lance."

Lotor jerked upwards and tugged her hair, causing the girl to shoot up and glare at him. "What the hell Lotor?!"

"I'm sorry, but did you just say Lance? You poor soul," Lotor said sadly. "Say, how about we talk to Coran and change the project up so we can work together, huh? Sounds like a good plan right?"

"We don't even have the same class, stupid. If it were up to me, I'd have the baby with Acxa because she cares."

Lotor raised a brow and looked at Acxa. "She does? That's strange. I didn't take Acxa to be the type of person to care of a baby, and one that is a bag of flour, nonetheless."

"I care about my grade a lot," she said through tight lips as she stared directly at Lotor. He pursed his lips, eyes narrowing before turning back to face Pidge. 

"If it's any consolation, your baby might have an eyepatch but at least he's alive. Don't give him a bath, though. My partner is obsessed with water and said that we should give it a bath before she started crying when it turned to mush."

Pidge snorted. "Who's your partner?"

"A girl named Florona. Obsessed with water, I tell you."

Pidge nodded, taking a sip of her drink. "I bet she is. Want some?" She asked, offering him her drink. Lotor was taken aback, staring at her with a confused face before shaking her head and smiling. 

"I'm alright, thank you."

Pidge shrugged before taking a sip, her phone buzzing in her bag. She took it out and read the message, immediately groaning. Zethrid raised a brow. 

"Is Keith bothering you?"

Pidge sent her a funny look, shaking her head. "What, no. It's Matt."

"Your brother? I thought you liked him," Ezor said curiously. "Did he say he took over your room because it has the better AC?"

"No, he said Lance is at my house and he demands to know where his child is," she said while shaking her head. "It's not like he can't ask me directly. Chicken," she muttered before getting up. Lotor stood up with her, taking her flour baby into his arms. 

"Need a ride?"

"Actually, I have to go too. I have to meet up with Keith for the flour baby project. Our baby might hate her father, but he has some rights," she joked lightly. Pidge snickered. 

"Acxa, that's you."

"But flour baby feels the same. I'll give you a ride," she said while sending Pidge a smile. Pidge sighed in relief. 

"Thanks. Well, see you guys tomorrow. Wish me luck so I don't strangle Lance in the process of taking care of our baby," she called over her shoulder as she walked away with Acxa. 

Lotor frowned, looking at Ezor with a pensive look on his face. "Ezor?"

"Yeah?"

"Is she trying to avoid me?"

Zethrid coughed, subtlety jabbing Narti with her elbow. Ezor sent her a glare before looking up at Lotor with an innocent look. "Who? There's two people that left, you know."

"I know that two left," Lotor replied irritatedly. "I just want to know if either Acxa or Pidge are mad at me."

Ezor hummed, taking a sip op her drink before shrugging. "Dunno. Acxa just cares about her grades, and Pidge is a sweetheart that's too good to be dating you." Narti bowed her head and smirked. 

"Boom."

Lotor furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

Ezor shrugged again. "I don't know, maybe Pidge is onto the fact that you aren't that good of a partner. Like come on, Lotor! If you want to sell the relationship thing and not make her seem suspicious, you should try and act like a decent boyfriend."

"I am a decent boyfriend!"

"Yeah, the decent boyfriend that's using his girlfriend's inside knowledge to his own advantaged," muttered Zethrid while taking a bite of her sandwich. Lotor's left eye twitched as he watched Ezor smirk.

"You two are horrible."

"I didn't know we were talking about your dating skills," Ezor said sweetly. Her smile only grew as she heard Lotor growl, her eyes never breaking contact with his eyes. 

"What is your problem?!" Lotor finally managed to hiss through clenched teeth, his knuckles white as he tightened his grip on his collar. Ezor sighed.

"You ever realize how much of a jackass you are? Pidge is trying to act like a good girlfriend, and she's doing an amazing job at tolerating your obvious rejection. She doesn't know what you're planning, so of course she's going to be hesitant around you if you don't even acknowledge her advances."

"I am not rejecting her, Ezor. I'm dating her!"

"You are, but you don't seem to be," the girl said pointedly. "Look, she doesn't know that it's all a big act on your part. You realize that you were the cause for her being miserable a month ago, right?"

"Oh that wasn't on my part, it was Keith's fault for calling her a slut. Worked in our favor anyways, didn't it?" 

"What's the point of her cutting off ties with the only other boy that cares about her if you won't even care about her when you're dating?!" Shouted Ezor with a frown on her face. "She was ready to give her heart to Keith, but you fucked around and manipulated her into dating you. You're so manipulative, and it's so sad how Pidge doesn't even notice that."

"It's just as sad as you defending her when you know exactly what I told you before you started looping her into your daily mall trips," said Lotor with furrowed brows. Ezor gasped. 

"See?! You can't even accept your own faults!"

"But tell me this, Ezor. Who was the first one to talk to her? Who was the first one to invite her out to the mall? Who was the one who got the closest to her? Who was the one who actually pushed her into going to the party?" 

Ezor blinked before she scowled. "You are so not turning the tables on me now!"

"You turned them on yourself, sweetheart," Lotor said cheekily before getting up. "I'm trying to do what I need to do on my part. Maybe you should do what you need to do and stop caring so much about a toy that we'll discard once everything is finished." He turned around and walked out of the diner, Ezor's hands trembling as she glared at his receding form. 

Zethrid looked at Ezor with concern laced on her features, hesitantly placing a hand on her shoulder. "Ez?"

"He's such a-!"

"Easy, Ez. He's not worth it."

"But Pidge!"

"He's a jackass but do you know what he'd do to us? To you? He might know stuff about Pidge's life, but not as much as he knows about us. I love Pidge to death, but think about your own safety first. I can't see one of my best friends get hurt because she tried to play the hero," Zethrid said while looking at Ezor straight in her eyes. 

Ezor sighed, clenching and unclenching her hand rapidly. "I want it to be over, Zethrid. Why did we get so involved?" She whispered, wrapping her arms around her knees as she pulled them up. 

Narti frowned. "Jackass."

Zethrid sighed. "Sometimes, even the best of us can be dumb and follow the leader when we're leaders ourselves."

"Why can't we just stand up for ourselves for once? Just once? I tried so hard to not care for what we were doing, but now I care so much. She's so broken, Zethrid! If Pidge is broken because of Lotor, then I don't want to do this anymore," she muttered. 

"You know we can't do that."

"Oh how I wish we could. I wish this was all a nightmare."

Zethrid partes her back. "Want me to call Acxa?"

Ezor meekly shook her head. "No, I'm okay. I'll probably tell her later anyways. Just, tell her to get Keith's side of the story."

"Won't that seem suspicious?"

"Who cares? I just want to know what his side of the story is. I want to plan something, something that will leave Lotor so shook that he won't go through with what he wants to do."

"Ezor, that's impossible!"

"Don't day that something's impossible when you haven't tried yet," Ezor said, newfound determination coursing through her veins. "Apparently, I was the one who caused this mess, according to Lotor. If I started it, I'm ending it and making things right again. But first, I need to hear what Keith went through. Make sure to tell Acxa to grill him for every detail."

Zethrid sighed. "I sure hope you know what you're getting us into."

Ezor grinned devilishly. "Oh I know. Karma is going to be a huge bitch to Lotor when he finds out and I can't _wait_."

* * *

Keith frowned, looking at the piece of paper on his desk. "Why does Coran like torturing me? He could've paired me off with anyone else but no, he pairs me off with the one person other than Pidge that is willing to kill me on the spot."

"Keith! You have a visitor," Shiro yelled from downstairs. "It's a girl!"

Keith felt his stomach do summersaults, and immediately felt nauseated. "Oh no." Hearing Shiro call his name again, he groaned and flopped onto his bed. "I heard you the first time!"

"Should I get mom to set an extra seat at the table? I'm sure she wouldn't mind!"

"No! Shiro, just send her to my room!"

"Keith Akira Kogane!"

Keith scowled, throwing his bedroom door open loudly. "Takashi Shirogane!" He mocked, crossing his arms. 

"Keith, would it kill you to come downstairs?"

"Shiro, she's just here for a school project!"

"Keith!" There was finality in his voice and Keith grumbled, walking down the stairs with furrowed brows and pouting lips. He made it downstairs slowly, refusing to look at Acxa. 

"Please tell me what the point of coming downstairs was because I'd love to know why I just wasted my energy."

"Keith, you're acting like a child. She's your partner, so you need to meet her at the door like a normal person and greet her like a normal person does, Keith."

"Shiro, can you just go?"

"Once I make sure you can actually talk to her and that you won't just let her do all the work, then sure, I'll leave you," Shiro said while crossing his arms. Keith sighed, reluctantly turning to face Acxa, who was looking at him with a tired expression. 

"Want to come inside?"

"You're making our child freeze," she said while handing him the bag of flour. "She's going to die and so will our health grade."

"Acxa, it's not even that cold."

"If it's below fifty, then it's freezing." Raising a brow, she looked inside and then at Keith. "So can we start the project now? I actually care about my grade, you know."

Keith nodded. "Uh yeah, me too." He stepped to the side, allowing her to step inside. "Let's go upstairs," he mumbled, motioning for her to follow him. "Shiro, don't follow."

"I'm not a dog, Keith. I know how to sit," Shiro joked before turning around in the direction of the kitchen. "Should I get snacks?"

"You're such a dad."

"I'm taking that as a yes. Go do your project, I'll  bring them up in a while."

Keith sighed, shaking his head as he and Acxa walked upstairs into his room. Acxa slowly entered behind him, looking around with a frown on her face. 

"This is the cleanest boy room I've ever seen."

"It usually isn't when I have friends over," Keith said before sitting on the edge of his bed with the flour bag. "So how are we going to start this project?"

Acxa shrugged, taking a seat at his desk and pulled out a piece of paper that Coran had handed out in class. "It says that the main goal is to make sure the baby stays alive, but it also says to give it a life story?" She frowned, turning the paper upside down. "What the hell?"

"Why would Coran make us give our kids a name if they won't even make it past sunrise?"

"It says that you should also include their personality, likes and dislikes."

"I'm a horrible story teller so I'm not taking care of that."

"You have to," she said sharply. "We both have to work together, no matter how badly I want to stab you."

"That wouldn't work because I have a knife and you don't."

"Who says I don't have a pocket knife on me?"

Keith scoffed. "A pocket knife? I have a whole set of knives hidden somewhere in here. While you'd be struggling to get your pocket knife, I'd be stabbing you repeatedly with the finest blade," he said proudly. 

Acxa looked at him with an unimpressed look. "Only one? I didn't know we were talking about your friends."

"Why do you hate me again?"

"It's female law that if one of our sisters hates a guy, then we all hate him too. It's simple, really."

"You are the worst partner."

"Says the one who's bringing up knives."

"That was you!"

"No, it was you."

"That is the biggest lie I've ever heard."

"Just like you being a gentleman? Oh yeah, that was the biggest lie I've ever heard."

Keith growled, taking the flour bag in his arms. "Can we _please_ just focus on our project?!"

Acxa shrugged. "You started this." 

"We should give it a name. I was thinking maybe Keith Jr?"

Acxa stopped glaring and her gaze softened, confusion all over her features. "Why would we name her Keith?"

"Since when is it a girl?"

"I've been calling her Petunia."

"Why?"

"Because she's a flour."

They fell into an awkward silence, Acxa looking at Keith expectantly while he tried to understand if he had heard correctly. 

"Did you just-"

"I'm not hearing a no," Acxa said with a small smile on her face. "The name stays."

"We are not naming her Petunia."

"Next is life story. That's your job."

Keith sighed. "I told you, I'm not good at making up stories."

"Well you have to say something. It's a key part of the project," Acxa said crossly. "It's twenty points alone."

"This is why I'm never taking health again."

"You can't. This is our last year of high school."

"Why did Coran have to pair me up with you? You're nothing but a pain in the ass!"

"Careful with your mouth, Kogane. There's a reason why certain people can't stand you, and your mouth is a big factor," Acxa warned, her brows furrowed as she looked at him menacingly. 

Keith went silent, looking down at the paper. "I can't do it."

Acxa scowled. "Fine! I guess I have to do everything." She sighed. "Petunia is going to be a pilot when she grows up. A pilot with the highest rank in her flight school, and very intelligent."

"That's not so bad, but one question?"

"What now?"

"Why are you making Petunia a Mary Sue?" 

Acxa looked at him with a scowl. "She is not a Mary Sue, Keith!"

"I guess it's something she inherited from her mother." Keith looked up at Acxa, challenging her to come up with a witty reply. Acxa opened her mouth before closing it, glaring at him. 

"You know what your problem is? You say things like that without thinking of the consequences. You think I'm perfect? Guess what, you're wrong. My childhood wasn't easy, and I'm not complaining about it because it made me into who I'm shaping up to be today."

"A mythic bitch? Wow, amazing."

"At least I'm not pushing everyone who cares about me out of my life," she said coldly. "I accept them as they come, and if they screw me over then it's just life being shitty, but it moves on. Doesn't change the fact that my life was already shitty enough."

"What would you know about having a shitty life?"

Acxa scoffed, crossing her right leg over her left. "Do you really want to know? Do you really want to know the pathetic childhood I had?"

"That's why I asked."

"My whole childhood was spent taking care of myself since I was four because my dead beat father left my mom shortly after I was born. She was always working, and when she wasn't, she was running errands and spent at the most an hour at home. She struggled, and I knew she loved me because she would always try to spend time with me but since she was the only one working, we barely had enough to make it through the month."

"I spent most of my time in the care of another person, which was my neighbor before I grew up and started to fend for myself. I was ten when I got my first burn from attempting to cook for myself, because my mom wasn't home yet again. I wasn't always a straight A student, but watching my mom bust her ass off to try to provide a good education for me in the future pushed me to get straight A's."

"My childhood wasn't all sunshine and rainbows because I got bullied constantly by everyone, just because I didn't have the latest phone model or any 'pretty' clothes like the rest of the girls had. I was bullied for always raising my hand, I was bullied for always being me. Nobody knew my situation, and all they could do was laugh at me and call me that 'queer nerdy girl.' I'm not a Mary Sue because I still struggle with anxiety if I get below an A, even though my mom is in a better situation now. I still bust my ass off to achieve what I can now."

"All I've ever done is to make my mom proud, and to make life easier on her. If I'm a perfectionist, it's so I can get good grades to have a good future so I'll be able to provide my mom an easier life in the future because she's done so much for me that I can never repay her. If I'm a perfectionist to everyone, it's because they can't understand me. But sure, I'm a Mary Sue, right Keith? Oh wait, a Mary Sue and a mythic bitch," she said with a strangled voice, her lips trembling and her hands shaking. 

"I'm sorry-"

"You always are."

They sat in silence for a while, Acxa taking Petunia and cradling her in her arms before Keith spoke up. 

"I'm adopted."

Acxa slowly turned her face to face him, her voice still shaky from before. "What?"

"I'm adopted," Keith said slowly before continuing. "I'm adopted because my birth mom decided she didn't want me, so she abandoned me and left me in my dad's care. He tried to take care of me, but after five months I was already in the orphanage. I went through ten different homes during the span of three years, and everyone always brought me back because they said I was too much of a problem."

"When my mom and dad that I have now adopted me, I was distant. I wasn't going to get close to another family only to be left in the orphanage again. They were so close to giving up on me because I wouldn't give them a chance, but Shiro managed to help me realize that they weren't going to leave me. Ever since I've been a kid, I've pushed people away because everyone I ever cared about always ended up abandoning me."

"The rest of childhood might not have been as fucked up as yours, but I've struggled with anxiety for years. Passing grades were the only thing that I felt would make my family proud, so I fought hard for them. I felt that if I wasn't like Shiro, then I wasn't anything. You're not the only perfectionist, because in a way, I am too."

Acxa sat there in silence, lips pursed before she looked up at him with a soft look. "I guess I'm not the only fucked up person in this world after all."

Keith shook his head. "You're pretty fucked up with how you treat me, but yeah, we're both fucked up."

Acxa snorted, a small smiling appearing on her face. "You deserve it."

Keith rolled his eyes, a small smile of his own appearing on his face. "I don't deserve this bullying."

Acxa sighed, looking up at him with a confused look. "Is that why you pushed Pidge away?"

Keith's smile dropped. "What?"

"You said you push people away because you're afraid they'll abandon you. Is that why you pushed Pidge away?" Acxa repeated, looking into Keith's eyes. "Answer me."

Keith rubbed his arms uncomfortably. "Why does that matter?"

"It does because it's about Pidge."

"It's not important then."

"Can you stop pretending to act like you don't care when you know you do?" Acxa asked impatiently. "You know it's bothering you and I want to know why you said what you said to her."

"Do you really want to know?"

"I asked, didn't I? I'm expecting a response too, Keith. Now come one, speak up."

The raven haired boy sighed, throwing himself backwards onto his bed in a dramatic fashion. "It all started at the beginning of senior year, a few months ago. We were all ready to get the year over with, but then the devil himself appeared at Altea High and threw us all into hell."

"Wait. Are you talking about Lotor?" Acxa asked, a small smile on her lips. 

"Oh my bad, it's Prince Lotion. Anyways, when he came and started taking an interest in Pidge, I guess I got jealous? I don't know how to explain it, but I just really hated him trying to talk to her out of their English project and during the time we were supposed to be building Voltron. Then you guys came along and started stealing her away, bit by bit. I don't know why, but seeing her being pulled away by all of you made me feel like she was abandoning me."

"That's stupid," Acxa declared. "Do you know how much she always talked about you when she was with us? I could fill a journal with everything she's said." _Of course it was mostly about how she adores you and hates you at the same time, but you don't need to know that._

"Hey! Can I finish?"

"Sorry."

Keith cleared his throat. "Thank you. Now like I was saying, when Pidge started leaving me for your crew, I felt like it was the end of the world because not only was she abandoning me for people she barely knew, but Lotor is a weird guy that I just didn't trust. We started arguing, and by that I guess I started pushing her away. She didn't like it because she's Pidge, but I just wanted to keep her safe. I'd die for her, you know," he confessed. 

Acxa snorted. "Would you really?" She asked, amusement in her tone. 

He smiled. "I would. Pidge is so important to me because she's been with me since the beginning, and she's tolerated my shit. We've been best friends since we were six, even though we did argue a lot the first year we were neighbors. We bonded over torturing our brothers," he recalled fondly. "It was great."

"So why would you end something that you obviously cherished so much with a few hurtful words?"

Keith sighed. "I told you, I was jealous and afraid that she was abandoning me. I couldn't watch her do that to me, so I pushed her away before she could reject me." He sat in silence for a while, folding his arms over his chest. "I rebuilt the wall that she broke down when we were six."

"You know, you're really stupid."

Keith sat up, tilting his head to the side. "What?"

"You're stupid," Acxa repeated. "Do you really think that she would push you away on purpose? I may not have known Pidge for a long time, but she doesn't break down her own walls down for just anyone. She's hesitant at first, but quick to trust once you prove you're not a jackass."

"Well I was a jackass so."

"You're missing the point! Don't you realize that Pidge has had you around for what, ten years and hasn't once left your side? You've annoyed her, but she's obviously liked you enough if she's considered you her best friend since you were small. You've been an important part of her life, and she adores you even though she'll never admit it."

"But she's ignoring me!"

"That's on you for fucking up in the first place," Acxa responded with a small glare. "You can fix it, you know. Despite her ignoring you, she adores you too much to let you go. She misses her best friend, Keith," Acxa said softly, looking into the boy's eyes with sincerity. "These past two months have been hell for her, and for us because we can't do anything about it. She talks about you so much, as if you were the moon."

Keith wrinkled his nose. "The moon?"

"It's something you'll get in the future," Acxa replied dismissively. "The point is that she's miserable without you, just like you are without her. You two complete each other. Think of this as a test, Keith. Your jealousy is the enemy, and your test is to see wether it will break your friendship for good or if you can bounce back from it and come back stronger than ever."

Keith stared at her for a minute, causing Acxa to fidget. "What?"

"Why do you tell me this when you're the one on Lotor's side?"

"I'm not on anyone's side. I'm just on the 'make Pidge happy again' side," she simply replied before picking up Petunia. "Petunia thinks you should stop being a jackass and apologize too."

"Acxa, she's a bag of flour."

"Well? Are you going to do it or not?" Acxa demanded, crossing her arms, entrapping Petunia in her embrace. "I need to hear the answer."

Keith sighed. "I'm going to try, but I'm probably going to get a rock thrown at my face. Or an AP Chemistry text book."

Acxa smiled. "Good. Where are the cookies your brother promised? I was told there would be food, Kogane."

Keith snorted. "More like you demanded there be food. I was convinced tonight would be my last night on this earth."

Acxa looked at him unimpressed. "Are you really that scared of a girl?"

Keith shrugged. "Look, I've been around Allura and Pidge for a long time. They're not your typical girls because they're capable of beating my ass in an arm wrestling match and a karate fight."

"Fair enough. I still want my cookies though," Acxa muttered while looking at the door. She tossed Petunia into Keith's arms, the boy successfully catching her before looking at Acxa in confusion. 

"What are you doing?"

"Getting food."

"Maybe I should get it then. It is my house after all."

He proceeded to toss Petunia at Acxa, the girl's eyes widening as she lunged forward, attempting to catch her flour child before she could hit the ground. Keith's eyes widened once he realized that she wasn't going to catch her, and he too lunged forward, the two screaming as Petunia landed on the floor and promptly exploded. 

"Petunia!"

"My grade!"

The two looked up at the air in disbelief, watching the flour settle on the ground as it fell from the ceiling. 

"I just killed my child."

"My grade!" Acxa repeated, grabbing the now empty flour bag and looking at it in dismay. "My child and my grade are all dead!" She groaned, eyeing Keith with slit eyes. "You killed our child!"

"You were the one that didn't catch her!"

"You weren't even supposed to throw her back in the first place!" Acxa groaned louder, clutching the remains of the empty flour bag in her hands. "I can kiss my perfect health grade goodbye now."

She then pulled her pocket knife out, eyeing the bag with a distant look. "I need to destroy the evidence that you destroyed our child." Keith's eyes widened as he watched her scream, ripping through the empty bag rapidly. 

"Acxa stop my mom has an extra bag of flour downstairs!"

Acxa stopped screaming, looking at Keith with wide eyes. "What?"

"My mom buys the same brand of flour as the one Coran had us use for the project. We can just redecorate her and come up with the rest after we do that."

Acxa looked down at the flour bag, which now was slashed in many places, with a frown. "You couldn't have told me that before I started killing the remains of Petunia?"

"I didn't think you'd slash through her remains, but here we are."

Acxa sighed, putting Petunia's remains on Keith's desk. "This time, I'm making sure she goes home with me because you're a very irresponsible father."

"Hey! I think I'd make an amazing father."

"You blew up our baby," Acxa reminded him before walking out of his room. Keith opened his mouth to respond but sighed,  resigning himself to his fate of having Acxa remember him as the boy who blew up their baby. 

_At least she hasn't killed you yet_ , the voice inside his head told him. Keith sighed. If there was one positive side to today, this was it. 

At least he would live to see another sunrise.

* * *

Lotor paced around his room, thinking about what Ezor had told him a few hours ago, the same words repeating themselves in his mind and never stopping, as if they were on loop.

_"Pidge is a sweetheart that's too good to be dating you."_

He growled, clenching his fist. "I might not care for her, but I'd rather have her with me that with Keith. If I can't have her by my side, then nobody can."

He hated the idea of Pidge dating someone that wasn't him. Sure he didn't seem to care, but he cared about keeping her close so he could keep an eye on her. If she had dated Keith, then all his plans would have gone to waste and he'd be struggling to put his master plan into action. Thanks to her being around him for a majority of the day, he was sure his plan would work. 

But Ezor was right when she said that the two seemed to not even be dating at all. They were distant, despite being close to each other every time they met. He needed to convince her that he cared, but also make sure that it would lead her to want to stay by his side forever. 

He was going to play the pity card. 

He though of what he could possibly do to make her pity him enough to stay by his side, and a thought finally came to mind and he smirked, picking up his phone from its place on his bedside table. 

_"Hello?"_

"Would you like to join me for dinner with my parents?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I finally managed to update! This chapter and the whole flour baby concept was really inspired by Trollhunters (11/10 show its amazing). I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for reading and for putting up with my weird updating schedules.


	21. All We Do Is Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with the Sincline family is never a good time, and Pidge learns that the hard way.

Lotor was never one to back down from something, regardless of how difficult the task was.

It was the blissful feeling of victory when he succeeded against all odds that led him to do what seemed to be impossible to others, the satisfaction leaving him with a sense of accomplishment. He loved the feeling of proving everyone wrong, the feeling of proving to everyone that he could do the impossible and that nothing would stop him from achieving what it was that he wanted. Everyone around him was impressed, and it left him feeling victorious. Everyone, that is, except his parents.

His parents weren't the most supportive people in the world. They had been once, but all that he was left with now was empty memories about the first five years of his life where everything had been normal. All he received now whenever he visited his parents was judgement and hatred. He was a man, and knew what he was capable of doing. He knew his limits. That's how he found himself doubting himself and his choice of earning Pidge's pity, deciding wether or not it was too late to turn back.

He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, eyebrows twitching as he kept his eyes glued to the road. He felt a hand on his arm, and looked briefly to the side. Lotor was faced with Pidge looking up at him, her face laced with concern.

"Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've had a frown on your face ever since we got into the car, and then you ignored me when I asked you how much longer it was going to take," she pointed out.

"Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Was it something I did?" Pidge inquired, looking down at her feet. "I'm sorry if I did something wrong."

"It wasn't anything you did, Pidge," Lotor reassured her. "I simply have a lot of my mind, but that does not mean that you did something wrong."

Pidge sighed in relief, drumming her fingers on her lap. "I thought I had done something wrong."

"You haven't."

His eyes remained glued to the road, Pidge shifting around uncomfortably before resting the side of her face on her knuckles. "Can I change the music?"

"Go ahead," he replied, not once peeling his eyes from the road.

"Do you care what I put on?"

"No."

Pidge grinned, taking the aux cord and connecting it with her phone. Within seconds, Hamilton started blasting through the speakers and she sat back in her seat, letting the familiar melody of the music soothe her.

"Hamilton?" Lotor asked, raising a brow and risking a glance at her. "I didn't know you were into musicals."

"I wasn't," she admitted. "I thought they were boring until uh, Keith showed me Hamilton and here I am, obsessed with it." She chuckled, missing the way Lotor's small smile changed into a frown upon the mentioning of Keith's name.

"Speaking of Keith, how is he? I haven't seen you speaking to him yet. Are you two not over your quarrel?"

Pidge frowned. "No, not yet," she replied curtly. "Why do you ask? I thought you didn't like Keith."

"I don't," Lotor replied quickly. "I just wanted to see if you would make the foolish mistake of running back to someone who hurt you."

"Can we not talk about this? It's getting a little old, don't you think?"

"My apologies if I offended you, Pidge."

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, the only noise being the other passing cars on the highway. Pidge sighed.

She didn't know what had gotten into her, if she was being completely honest. Lotor asking her to meet his parents had been out of the blue, and it seemed suspicious in a way. She didn't know why he had asked her, or even where his parents had lived since they did not reside in their small house that was located in the center of Altea. The only response she had gotten when she asked was 'on the outskirts of town,' and that was that. They never talked about it again until yesterday when he had asked her to confirm that she was going.

Truth be told, she didn't want to go. It was on a Friday night, and she had planned to go to the theater with her family to see a movie. Instead, she was stuck in a car with her boyfriend who didn't even seem like he was in a relationship with her, driving on the highway with no foreseeable exit. All they did was drive and sit in silence, not knowing what to say to one another. It was if they were strangers and not a couple.

She wondered if he really did like her.

Lotor was a good person, in her opinion. He was just too full of pride, and too stubborn to give up when he was close to reaching what he wanted. She had seen in when they had worked together for their English project, and saw it with how he was so determined to build Sincline, the model he had created for the robotics competition. She didn't love him, but she liked him in a way. His intellect was attractive, but he failed to invoke in her the emotions that Keith made her feel.

It was sad how she was in a relationship with someone while wanting someone else. She wanted Keith, even though he had been the one to yell at her. She wanted to yell at him, she wanted to kick him, slap him, but she also just wanted to be by his side again. She wanted to stand by him, wether it be as his girlfriend or best friend. But no matter how hard she tried to try and muster up the courage to talk to him, she couldn't. It was like an instinct now.

She didn't feel that bad about not being completely honest with her feelings for Lotor. His heart didn't seem to be into it either, and she was considering wether or not to end things and move on, or to stay and try to help him change into a more lovable person.

"Now you're the one being awfully quiet," Lotor said, pulling her down from her high cloud of thoughts. "I really am sorry if I overstepped my boundaries, Pidge. I didn't mean to."

She bit her lip. "It's fine," she answered. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke up again. "Lotor, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why are you bringing me to your parents house for dinner? Doesn't it seem a little weird to you? Or a little too early? I mean, we did start dating two months ago," she said uncertainty while glancing at him quickly.

Lotor's eyes widened and he looked at her before turning his eyes back to the road, trying to remain calm. "You see, it's been a while since I've brought a partner over to meet my parents. They like to see who I am dating and to keep tabs on me. It's really like no other dinner, you know."

Pidge frowned. "Yeah, but why now?"

"They tend to ask me to bring my partner over if the relationship lasts more than a month," he replied quickly. "And like you said, we have been dating for a little over two months so what better time to bring you over? It was Valentine's Day a few days ago, was it not?"

"Yeah, I know. Still, I'd rather be home you know."

"I am well aware of that. Just do this for me, please?"

She quickly glanced up at him, meeting his own violet eyes with her amber ones, pleading evident in his eyes. She sighed, sitting back and letting her head fall onto her knuckles again. "How much longer?"

"About five minutes."

"You know, I thought you lived closer to Altea."

"No."

She frowned, turning around to face him once again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're being too closed off again!"

Lotor frowned. "Am I? I didn't notice."

"Don't act like you didn't notice, Lotor. You know what you're doing, and it's honestly annoying me so much! I'm your girlfriend for a reason, I want you to talk to me!"

"Your head is running wild, my dear," he replied while taking the exit and driving off the highway. "I am not hiding anything."

"You're hiding everything."

Lotor growled. "Must you keep saying that? If I told you that I am not hiding anything, you shouldn't question it. Just like I respect your boundaries when you ask me to stop mentioning Keith, I expect the same when I ask you to stop saying these lies. You're putting things in your head that are simply not true."

Pidge scowled. "I'm about to roll out of the car and walk all the way back home."

"You wouldn't be able to," he scoffed. "It'd be a two hour trek by foot to even get near Altea High."

"I'm willing to make that walk."

"Look, I don't tell everyone everything that is going through my mind. You're not the first to comment on that, but trust me, you can't change me. I am who I am, and nobody is going to do anything about it."

Pidge sat back, pulling her legs up. "Fine then." She eyed the car handle, deciding wether or not to actually roll out of the vehicle. Worst case scenario, she'd get some bruises and joint pain for a week. As if he could read her mind, Lotor took her left hand into his right and held onto it lightly.

"Pidge..."

"I want to go home," she whispered, feeling tears pool at the sides of her eyes. _Why am I crying?_

"We're two minutes away, Pidge. I'm sorry, alright? I'm sorry if I hurt you, I'm sorry if I said something wrong. Please, just help me get through this dinner."

She frowned, using the cuff of her jacket to wipe her eyes. "What do you mean, 'help you get through this dinner?'"

Lotor mentally slapped himself , cursing internally. "I didn't mean anything, Pidge. Trust me, it'll be alright. Trust me."

 _Trust me._ His words resonated through her heart, and what should have been a comforting feeling felt more like a lie. They were stuck in the same cycle, forgiving and never talking about the problems they had. Their relationship wasn't the best, and she knew that he knew it too.

All she could do was nod and look out the car window, watching the moon seemingly follow them while they drove. She chuckled, smiling at the moon. Lotor raised a brow.

"Why the chuckling? You were just yelling at me a while ago."

She stopped chuckling and frowned, looking down at her lap. "Nothing."

"There must be a reason-"

"I said, it's nothing," she replied sharply. Lotor frowned, but ultimately stopped pestering her and kept his eyes glued to the road. Pidge looked out the window once again, staring at the moon. Oh, how she would trade this night with a night on her roof with Keith, the two exchanging secrets and funny thoughts under the bright moon and the twinkling stars.

"We're here," Lotor said after a minute, interrupting her thoughts. Pidge's eyes widened as she watched them pull into the driveway, noticing how tense Lotor has suddenly gotten. Something was amiss, and she had a bad feeling about what was going to happen tonight. The vehicle came to a halt, and Lotor wordlessly walked out, going around the front of the car to open the passenger side for Pidge. She stepped out, feeling the cool night breeze against her face as she stared up in awe at the front of his house.

She knew that Lotor was a rich kid, his clothing being enough proof of it, but she had never realized just how rich he was. She remembered Acxa briefly telling her how Lotor's family was loaded with money, so much that they had different houses in different states and even one outside in a foreign country, Italy, she thought. Seeing how big their house was, she realized how small the one that Lotor resided in Altea was. It was nothing compared to this one, and she knew that they couldn't care less one small house that they rarely used.

The 'house' in front of her was more like a mansion per say, with two marble pillars in the front and a set of large, heavy wooden doors in the middle of it. The mansion itself gave off a Victorian era vibe, looking eerily beautiful with the bright lights inside contrasting the dark sky outside. It was beautiful, and she loved it.

Lotor locked his car with a click of a button, looking up at the mansion, his lips in a thin lie. Pidge noticed his face and hesitantly reached for his hand, taking it into her own and giving it a light squeeze. He looked down at her.

"What?"

"You look tense, are you okay?"

"I told you, I'm fine," he snapped, glaring at the front of the house.

"You are not fine. I want to help Lotor, but if you don't want me to then I guess we better just-"

"Do you really want me to tell you?"

Pidge stopped talking, looking at Lotor with a frown. "Yes! That's what I've been asking you to do since we first started driving out here!" She exclaimed exasperatedly, looking at Lotor with wide eyes. She was met with his purple, tired eyes and frown.

"I think I'll just let you see for yourself."

She was left to question what he meant before he started walking, squeezing her own hand as she walked alongside him, pulling her slightly by the hand. He was tense, his brows twitching and the thin line of his lips quivering ever so slightly. She wasn't sure if it was the breeze, or if he was nervous as well. They walked up the front steps, Pidge getting more nervous by the second as Lotor rang the doorbell.

The door was opened a few seconds later, and a man -the butler, she assumed- with a purple tie and formal clothes quickly ushered them inside. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside, the halls dimly lit and the warmth embracing her in an almost welcoming way. It was a sharp contrast to what had been in Lotor's house in the city, the mansion far more luxurious than the house where she and Lotor had kissed the first time.

She also felt a small feeling of uncertainty as a sigh escaped Lotor's lips, his eyes downcast as they were led by the butler to the dining room for dinner. She glanced up at him, noticing just how nervous he seemed to actually be. He was making her nervous, and she didn't like it. Not one bit. It was making her suspicious about what his motives for bringing her over really were, and her instincts were telling her to leave. But where could she run to? She was in the middle of nowhere with her way too quiet boyfriend and didn't know how to drive.

She was really regretting her decision to agreeing to meet his parents.

They walked into the dining room, the sparkling chandelier above the mahogany wooden table being the first thing she saw. It was breathtaking, and she almost walked into the table before Lotor stopped her. He took a seat and she followed him, sitting next to him. There were two large wine glasses placed at the opposite ends of the table, and Pidge wondered who those were for.

"Lord Zarkon and Lady Honerva will be down shortly."

Lotor nodded and the butler walked out, leaving the two to sit in silence as they waited for his parents to make their appearance. He tapped the table impatiently, Pidge processing what she had heard the butler say. She turned to Lotor, confusion in her eyes.

"Did he just say _'Lord Zarkon and Lady Honerva?_ " She asked incredulously, Lotor's frown deepening.

"Yes."

"Why 'Lord?'"

Lotor opened his mouth to respond before two figures entered, one in a wheelchair and the other walking. He stood up and put a clenched fist up to his heart, motioning for Pidge to do the same. She followed his lead and did the same thing, suddenly feeling small as the woman -Honerva, she assumed- looked at her with sharp eyes. They were the same color as her own amber eyes, although more sharp and colder looking. They held some malice in them, and it made her feel inferior to the woman.

Her husband, who she was assuming was Zarkon, looked just as malicious as her. His eyes looked cold and murderous, and she felt even smaller under his own gaze. She wasn't accustomed to sitting at a table with people like this, people who were dressed in trademark clothing and people who showed little to no emotion. No wonder Lotor had ended up how he was now.

His parents sat down, with Zarkon at one end of the table and Honerva at the other end. Lotor and Pidge took a seat, Pidge becoming more unnerved as the seconds passed and Lotor nervously tapping his foot on the floor under the table. They sat in silence for a while, Zarkon taking a sip of his wine while observing the pair, Honerva looking at Pidge with furrowed brows and observant amber eyes that seemed to be staring right into her soul.

It was Zarkon who finally broke the awkward silence. "Lotor."

Lotor immediately straightened up. Bowing his head, he placed his right arm on the left side of his chest, a show of respect, Pidge imagined. "Father, it brings me such pleasure to see you up and about again. Why, I though that-"

"Silence!" Zarkon barked, Pidge looking wildly between Lotor and Zarkon with wild eyes. _What the hell is going on?_ Lotor's eyes widened ever so slightly before he nodded and sat down. "I did not come down here for your useless flattery. It's horrible enough seeing you in person, and it's even more horrible listening to you speak. "

Lotor's lips formed a thin line, his face devoid of emotion. "My apologies, father, but I would like to know why I was asked to drive for more than hour to meet you when you know that I have studies to attend to. I put effort into my education, I'll have you know."

"Quit running your mouth," snapped Honerva as she glared at her son. "Your father and I both know that you don't put effort into anything. You're a disgrace to this family, especially since you changed out of the school we chose for you to attend."

Pidge frowned, looking away from Honerva to look up at her boyfriend, who's lips only seemed to be growing increasingly thin with every comment. She knew how much that must have stung, because she knew just how much effort Lotor put into his actions.

"Galra High did not provide the type of education that I wanted," he replied stiffly. "It was low quality, and I only expect the best."

"So you turned to the school that our rival company provided?" Interrupted Zarkon, disdain evident in his tone. "I am your father, and I am the one who dictates your life!"

"Need I remind you that I am eighteen now, father? One hit and I will call the police!"

"So weak and imp that you cannot protect yourself. You fool, do you really think you have a right to speak out against me? You come into my house and request a dinner so that I can look at you? I've looked at you enough for the past eighteen years, and you're still a disgrace just like you were when you were a child!"

Lotor pursed his lips, staring into his fathers eyes. "If I recall correctly, you were the one who summoned me here. I would have never shown up if it were up to me, for I would rather die than see you. I have seen enough of you, just as you have seen enough of me."

"Don't you dare disrespect your father!" Honerva hissed, her amber eyes looking downright murderous as she glared at her son.

Lotor scoffed and stood up. "Disrespect? You want me to respect this monster who made my life a living hell, alongside you? I could never have respect for you, even if you begged me for it. Just like you want respect, I want respect as well. I don't want to be in a household with monsters dressed as my parents who act like they own me and treat me like I'm property instead of their own son!" He roared, slamming his fists into the table, the wine glasses shaking.

Pidge looked up at Lotor with wide, scared eyes. Never before had she seen him get so worked up, and it was frightening. She felt small at the table, as if she didn't belong there. She _didn't_ belong there. It was like coming to a certain revelation that this relationship wasn't what she wanted, and that it was only a rebound.

"Silence, you fool!" Zarkon snarled, he himself slamming his own fist on the table. "You dare ask for respect when you have been nothing but trouble for your mother and I? You're more of an idiot that I thought you were!"

"That witch is not my mother!"

"Do not disrespect your mother, Lotor! First you come here, unannounced-"

"I told you already, you called me here!"

"Silence! You come here unannounced, yell at you parents, and expect respect? You're even more of a disappointment now than you were during your early teens," Zarkon snarled, glaring at his son with furrowed brows and scrunched up face. "You have only been a disappointment to the Sincline family name since the day you could speak. First you change schools to that of our rivals, and then you bring _this wench_ with you to dinner? What has she to offer to our family?"

"Don't bring Katie into this," Lotor hissed, instinctively taking Pidge's hand and squeezing it. She hesitantly squeezed his hand, attempting to reassure him. He, however, paid no mind to her as he continued to stare into his fathers eyes, his purple eyes meeting his fathers cold, menacing ones.

"I knew you were a disappointment, and now you're just a pathetic failure. You can't choose a good girlfriend who will be of advantage, so you choose a useless girl who is of a low class family and will only be the weak link to our family. I refuse to have another weak link in our family line!"

"I'll have you know that I can make my own damn choices, father! You are not in control of my relationships, and had I known that you had just forced me to come over so that you could insult my girlfriend who I chose I would have never come!"

"Everyone you choose to have by your side is just as pathetic as you are!" Zarkon hissed. "First you show us those...girls of yours that don't even know what they're doing and expect us to be alright with that-"

"Do not bring my friends into this! They have been more of a family to me than you have ever been!"

"Silence you brat! They are just as useless as you are, all overachievers who wont go far in life or become anyone! You pick the weakest people as your allies, and expect us to give you respect. All you are doing is making a fool out of yourself by coming around here with your weak links!"

"I-"

"Your father is still speaking, Lotor," Honerva hissed. "His points are valid, and correct. You are nothing but a disgrace to the family name. Why should we trust you with the family company if you cannot even pick decent allies? You are an idiot, and a disappointment."

Lotor glared at her. "Me? Being the disappointment? You are more of a disappointment with how you changed from being a person to a witch." Pidge squeezed Lotor's hand again and she spoke up, looking up at him. "Sit," she said softly, fearing that one action would send him into a fit of fury.

Lotor glared at her before he sat down, turning back to his father with a stoic look. "I have heard enough of your repeated insults, father. It is nothing new, and nothing you haven't told me before. You called Katie and I down here for a reason, and since you do not like to see me, I want this to be over as quickly as possible," she said, trying to maintain his cool as his hands trembled from the hidden anger. He was on the brink of explosion, and everyone had noticed.

"Silence, Lotor! Since you have decided to transfer schools without our permission, you are hereby going to transfer back to Galra High School and you will not be allowed to interact with any of your weak allies." Lotor's eyes widened as he heard that, looking at his father with a hint of disdain.

"You can't do that! I refuse!"

"It is an order, Lotor, not a request! You will transfer back to Galra High School and you will not interact with anyone from the eastern part of Altea. You've dirtied the Sincline family name enough by your short attendance of Altea High School, the very same school funded and created by our rival, and it will be regarded as a black spot in the Sincline family history."

"I refuse to go back to Galra High! There are nothing but morons there who are more focused on finding the cheapest drug seller than their own classes!"

"If you do not transfer back, you will have no right to ask anything from us. You are legal now, and we will not baby you anymore. You will not receive any inheritance and will not be the heir of Galra Industries."

"Who ever said I wanted to own the company? You were never going to give it to me anyways!"

"If you were worthy enough to be able to carry the Sincline family name, then maybe you might have had the chance to own the company!" Zarkon snapped.

"I refuse! I am legal now, and can make my own damn decisions! You can cut me off, but I will work my ass off to be a better person than you one day with a greater company!"

"You really are a fool. If you step out of this house without agreeing to my terms, I will make sure that your name will be looked at in disdain by every person hiring that you will live out the rest of your days as a homeless scum!"

"I refuse to transfer!"

"Then you will be cut off from the family. We never needed you anyways," Honerva stated with disdain. "You have always been a useless part of the family, and tonight, you have proven that even more. A disgrace bringing more weak links over, how pathetic."

Silence filled the room as no one dared to speak up, Zarkon watching his son tremble with a cruel smirk on his face, knowing that he would get his son to relent. He had him wrapped around his finger so tightly, being able to control him was easy. It was all in the mind.

Lotor finally gave in, slamming his hand down on the table. "Fine!" He snarled, glaring at his father with a look of pure hatred, his body shaking with anger. This was a new side that Pidge had never seen before; he was going to explode and she needed to get him out of there, fast.

She grabbed his arm, trying it pull it off the table. "Lotor, lets go."

"You don't tell me what to do!"

She frowned, glaring at him. "Lotor, we need to leave!"

"We're not leaving!" He roared, seething with anger as he stayed put, Pidge attempting to pull him along before letting go and glaring at him.

"Fine! You can stay, but I'm leaving. Goodbye, Lotor."

"Oh no you don't!" He reached out for her retreating form, successfully getting a hold of her ponytail. He yanked it, causing her to hiss in pain as she was brought back to him. He looked at her with fury blazing in his eyes, and for the first time, Pidge was truly scared of him.

"Ow! Let go!"

"You're my girlfriend and you'll do whatever I tell you to do! You belong to me, and me only!" He was silenced by a loud smack that resonated throughout the room, the room suddenly all too quiet.

Pidge looked down at her hand, stunned by what she had just done. She slowly processed what had happened, the throbbing in her hand all too noticeable. I just slapped my boyfriend. She looked up at Honerva and Zarkon, who both had somewhat shocked expressions on their faces. Lotor stood there, stunned by the slap he had just received, his right hand up to his cheek as he felt the stinging sensation.

Pidge took advantage of the moment and took his left arm, pulling his towards the dining room door. "We're leaving, _now,_ " she growled, glaring at her stunned boyfriend. He simply nodded, allowing himself to be pulled along. Pidge stopped at the door of the dining room however, looking at Lotor's parents with an icy cold look. "It was horrible meeting you and I hope that I never have to see you again."

She pulled Lotor through the hall, the boy slowly regaining his full senses as he looked down at her, Pidge refusing to meet his eyes. They walked out the front door, Pidge letting Lotor go after she was sure the door was locked behind them. He simply walked to the drivers side and slid inside the car, starting the car up and allowing Pidge to get inside.

They drove into the highway, sitting in silence. Lotor refused to meet her eyes, Pidge glancing at him hesitantly. She had begun to feel guilty for her actions, and although she was relieved, she knew that it would do no good for them to not talk about what had just happened. Deciding that the silence was becoming too much, she tried to touch his cheek. He slapped her hand, shooting her a quick glare before returning his gaze to the road.

Pidge sighed. "Lotor, I just want to talk-"

"You've done enough with your actions," he snapped, gripping the wheel harder.

"That's not talking, that's violence! Which is, by the way, the only thing that would've happened if we stayed any longer in that house!"

"It was my fight and you had no part in that!" He yelled, turning to look at her with a glare. Pidge glared back at him, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"I chose to get involved because I don't want to see you get hurt!" She snapped, letting her anger take over. "I'm your girlfriend, I care about you, dumbass! You were going to get very hurt and although you don't act like it, you're my boyfriend and I had to get you out of there because I care!"

"It's nothing I couldn't have dealt with myself! Your only purpose there was to meet my parents, not to get in between my family affairs!"

"Well excuse me for caring about your wellbeing! I didn't expect tonight to go how it did, and I demand answers, Lotor!"

"Why should I give you answers? You did nothing but slap me," he hissed. "You want answers? I want an answer as to why you thought that slapping me was the only way to drag me out of there!"

"I told you already, you were becoming too worked up and didn't listen the first time! You're such an ass!" She screamed. "I want answers, Lotor, and now!"

"Fine!" He snarled, abruptly pulling over to the side of the road. "You want answers? I'll give you answers! My mother was a doctor who was so obsessed with finding a cure for cancer and all the incurable diseases that she stopped taking interest in me when I was five, instead choosing to hide in a laboratory with chemicals and herbs that poisoned her mind. My father? He was an honorable business man whose greed led him to be corrupt and to backstab his allies in an attempt to surpass them."

"My father hated me when I was born, for I was weak and small. He never lets me forget that I was a mistake, that I almost killed my mother during childbirth because she was in bed for three months due to the strain that the delivery put on her body. I am the disgrace, I am the son whose only wish is to earn the love of his parents back and to have a normal family! I don't want to live with that family anymore, because they aren't my parents, they are monsters dressed as humans!" He yelled, slamming his hands on the steering wheel before taking a deep breath. "You remind me of my mother, before she became who she is now," he said suddenly. "It pains me to think that you too might one day leave me and think of me as a disgrace."

Pidge watched him with a stunned expression, letting his words run through her mind. _'I am the son whose only wish is to earn the love of his parents and to have a normal family.' 'You remind me of my mother before she became who she is now.'_ It was something that she didn't relate to, but still something that stung. It felt like a knife to the chest, finally realizing that all the things that he had done, the need for perfection and of victory was so that he could impress his parents who were not even close to being impressed by him. His comparison of her to his mother scared her, feeling like he believed that she would love him too before breaking him.

She realized just how much she had taken her parents love and support for granted, and now she felt guilty and sympathetic for Lotor. His parents were the real pathetic ones for abandoning their son when he needed them most and allowing him to turn into who he was today. Allowing him to turn into a young man who was cunning and manipulative, a man who blocked everyone out, including his emotions, in account of feeling like he was in control. It made her sick, knowing how fucked up Lotor's family was.

She hesitantly rested her hand on his shoulder, the man breathing heavily but not crying. He flinched under her touch, and she had to resist the urge to turn his face towards her. "Lotor, I'm sorry I slapped you and I'm sorry for the fucked up things that your parents did, but you can't let that get in the way of your life. You're intelligent and worthy of every ounce of respect, and if your parents can't see that, then fuck them. "

Lotor frowned, turning to look at her with glassy, cold eyes. "Don't you see? My entire life has been a repeated cycle of hatred, and being told that I'm nothing. Nothing is going to change, and I'll have to live with the memories of the people who were once my parents instead of these damn monsters."

Pidge frowned, dropping her gaze and leaning back in her seat. "But how are you so sure will it never change?" She whispered, Lotor gazing at her for a while before turning his eyes back to the road, starting the engine up as he pulled back onto the highway.

"They've been like that for years. Nothing, and I'll say it again, nothing, will change that. No matter how badly I want it." He started driving, this time making sure that his eyes never left the road. Pidge looked down at her hands with hatred, especially the left one. If Lotor had been planning on making her feel sorry, his job had been completed.

She felt like a total jackass for slapping him now. She remembered what she had thought of telling him before they walked inside, and she was now conflicted on what to do. She knew that being with him was not good for her anymore, his subtle manipulation being the main reason she wanted to leave him, but she also felt obliged to change him in a way.

She had received answers, but was just left with more questions. She wanted to know just how far Lotor would go to receive his fathers approval, and how she could possibly change him, or if that was even possible.

She let her thoughts run wild as they drove closer to Altea, ignoring the voice in her mind that was telling her to run, to hide, to not trust him. All she could think was the she had fucked up by getting involved with Lotor before knowing how fucked up his backstory was, and that she was in for something bad in the near future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 21 is finally here, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	22. The Calm Before The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If anyone had told Pidge that this mall trip was going to end up like it would, she would have never gone. Much less after she would come to realize that her boyfriend wasn’t who he claimed to be and that his actions weren’t as clean as he made them out to be.

They say that there is always a calm before the storm, a time in which there is peace and odd tranquility that can quickly turn sour. Allura considered this shopping trip the calm before the storm. 

She had been keeping careful tabs on Pidge and especially Lotor, unbeknownst to her. She cared too much about her and didn't trust Lotor as much as she gave off, keeping a special eye on him. Lotor was a person who she knew from years before, a person whom Pidge didn't know. She wanted to protect her like the good friend she was. 

Watching Lotor had been an interesting thing. He was neither calm nor angry, but in the middle. He was not angered quickly, but he wasn't calm all the time either. He was a complex person, too closed off for anyone to break through his barriers. 

Lotor was also someone who Allura had grown to dislike even more than she had before he had started dating Pidge. She used to be sarcastic and sassy, loud and never hesitating to speak her mind, but that was gone. Instead, se was replaced by a shadow of her old self, and she knew that Pidge had realized. Pidge was always quiet when she was around Lotor, even when he was talking to her. It was as if she was scared of him, scared to speak her mind. That wasn't like her, and it hurt her to see her like that. She deserved a good relationship where she shouldn't have to change for someone or be influenced by them. 

She didn't realize that, though. Truthfully, Allura would prefer her to be with Keith. Everyone around him saw how much she adored him, and how much he adored her back. It had been a painful two months of not hearing them talk, two months where they wouldn't even look at each other. What hurt even more was that she knew that Pidge missed him. She knew that she missed Keith, just as much as he missed her. 

If only they knew that she missed them just as much as they missed each other. 

She wanted it to be over. That's why she found herself attempting to make conversation with Pidge during their long wait in the bridal shop.

"So Pidge, how's your day going so far?"

"I'm bored. Are we almost done finding a dress? I need to be back home at a certain time," Pidge complained, looking out the store window with a frown. "I have to meet up with someone when we get home, and I don't want to be late."

Allura sighed. "Look, you don't have to hide the fact that you have to meet up with Lotor. Your attempts at keeping his identity a secret aren't exactly clever," she said dryly. 

"Okay, fine then. I have to meet up with Lotor later to talk about some stuff. There, are you happy?" Pidge snapped, crossing her arms. Allura frowned. 

"I didn't mean it as a bad thing, you know."

Pidge snorted, looking at Allura with furrowed brows. "Of course you didn't," she replied in a bitter tone. 

Allura opened her mouth to speak up before she was interrupted by Shay, who had returned from the back of the store with a magazine. 

"Okay so I found a few bridesmaid dresses that you might like. These can be found in store and the sizes are guaranteed to be here, in case you want to take them home today. I'm assuming the dresses are for Pidge, Plaxum and Marisol, right?"

Allura smiled. "You know that you are a bridesmaid as well, right Shay?"

Shay blushed, rubbing the back of her neck bashfully. "Yes I do, but I wanted to make sure the others have their dresses as well."

"Well, I'm sure they will. Pidge, come over here! I want you to help me choose out the color for the bridesmaid dresses."

"Neon green," Pidge replied without hesitating. Allura groaned, rolling her eyes while Shay stuck her tongue out in disgust behind Allura. "What? I think is perfect," Pidge replied with a smug grin on her face. "I'm sure Shiro would love neon green as a color."

"That doesn't match the color theme!"

"Well my bra and underwear don't match up all the time either but I'm not complaining. This is the future, Allura."

Shay stifled a laugh, her lips curling up into a smile as Allura looked at Pidge exasperatedly. "I think we have some other colors that will match your color theme perfectly, Allura. The colors are silver, gold and aqua blue, aren't they? Oh! Those are the colors for the Castle of Lion at Altea Uni!" Shay gasped, sudden realization striking her. 

Allura nodded. "They were chosen by my father as the main colors for Altea since they have been a family favorite for some time. That's why Shiro and I chose to honor him."

Shay frowned. "Allura, I'm sorry for your loss," she said sympathetically, placing a comforting hand on Allura's shoulder. "That's awful."

Allura blinked, sending Shay a confused smile. "My father isn't dead, Shay. When I say that we decided to honor him, I meant that we decided that we should choose those colors because my father loves them and he said that he would love to see them at our wedding."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Since when did colors become so important? First it's prom, now this? Allura, you're really obsessed with colors."

"Oh really? Then tell me your color plans," Allura replied while putting a hand to her hip. "And when I say color plans, I mean an actual color theme, not just wild electrifying colors."

Pidge shrugged. "My favorite colors are Christmas colors. Silver, gold, green and...red," she replied, her smug grin falling off her face as she mentioned the color red. She looked to the side before crossing her arms, looking at Allura with a fake, cocky grin. "There. Not that bad, are they?"

Allura sighed, looking at Shay with a pleading expression. "Please tell me that you don't have neon green as a dress color option."

Shay smiled. "No, we don't. We have gold dresses and silver colored ones too, though. Oh, we have aqua colored dresses too!" She said excitedly, flipping through the pages of the magazine. "We usually don't have aqua since it's more of a summer color, but since you told my grandma the color theme, she tried to see what she could do to make sure that she had the color just in case you chose for the bridesmaid dresses."

Allura smiled appreciatively, taking the catalogue from Shay's hands. "Thank you, Shay. We'll look through some of the designs and tell you what we choose." Shay nodded and smiled, waving as she head back towards the front of the store where her grandmother was. Allura let a sigh escape her lips, flipping through the designs of the dresses with a frown. 

"The bows that are being tied to the back of the chairs are a light shade of aqua blue and table cloths are a mix of gold and silver. I don't know which bridesmaid dress you would like to wear," Allura said while glancing down at Pidge, who was looking at the catalogue with a raised brow. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just that you're worrying so much about one event and it's so funny," Pidge replied. "Look, I get that this is important to you, but regardless of any color that you choose, Shiro's still going to marry you. Stop worrying so much, okay? But on the other hand, aqua blue is more of a bridesmaid color dress." 

Allura nodded. "You're right. Thank you, Pidge." 

Pidge shrugged. "I also spotted a design that I like. It's long, and just above the boob area it's lace that goes up your neck. I think it's the most fitting because it's not too revealing like 'woah I'm a slut!' and it's not too concealing like 'woah I'm a nun.'"

Allura snickered, looking down at the design that Pidge had pointed out. "You're correct. I like that design, too. I hope they have the design in stock and available to take home today. I don't want to leave everything for last minute."

"Your wedding dress just came yesterday. I call that last minute," Pidge said pointedly. "The wedding is in like three weeks, Allura."

"Planning a wedding is hard," Allura complained as she sat down to wait for Shay to return. "You'll see when you plan your own wedding. It's nothing but stress and crying, but I guess it's worth it in the end when you marry the one you love."

"Yeah, well getting married seems stupid," Pidge muttered as she sat down next to Allura, picking at her nails. "Especially when your boyfriend is an ass."

Allura frowned. "Who said you're going to marry Lotor? I'll have you know that not every high school relationship works out and that's perfectly fine. It's not like you're dating to get married."

"Tell that to Lotor. Honestly, I've been wanting to call it quits for a while but it's like he knows so he's doing everything in his power to make me feel guilty about wanting to end things. He's toxic, and I know it, but I don't really know what do at this point," Pidge confessed, crossing her arms over her chest and rubbing her arms with her hands. Allura frowned. 

"This isn't like you. You don't usually let yourself be that influenced by a guy, especially one who's toxic and manipulative. You've changed, Pidge, and I don't like it. He's changing you into an insecure person, he's changing you into some kind of slave!" She yelled angrily, her brows furrowed. Pidge rapidly placed a hand over Allura's mouth, frantically looking around with wide eyes. 

"Allura you can't just yell shit like that in public!" Pidge hissed through clenched teeth before sighing, taking her hand off of Allura's hand. "I know you're right, hell all of you were right when you warned me not to date him, but what do I do? The guy clearly has issues, and I'm scared to let him go because he could go do something stupid just to prove to his family that he's worth something."

"First of all, you're not his babysitter. Second of all, do I need to remind you that if someone is using their issues to guilt trip you into staying with them that they're being manipulative? I'm not sorry when I say that you don't deserve that. You may not be a shining star yourself either, but you're my friend and I know you know better than to stay with a guy who doesn't know how to act in a relationship."

Pidge frowned. "I know. I know that it's not okay for him to keep doing this, and I hate it, but I don't want to leave things just like that. I don't want things to be awkward with us, and I don't want things to be like this anymore. I'm really conflicted Allura."

"I'm not. You have to drop his ass now before he becomes more toxic," Allura replied without hesitating. "If you don't, you're going to end up like Shay and her last boyfriend. I don't want to see you go through that."

"Yeah, I guess." Pidge crossed her legs over one another, glancing up as Shay walked back towards them. "Oh look, it's Shay."

Allura looked up and smiled, greeting Shay as the girl stood in front of them with a smile on her face. Pidge ignored everything that she was saying, thinking about what Allura had said. It was true, and she knew it. Lotor wasn't who she had thought he was, and since the dinner last week, she had found herself thinking about the possibility of a breakup more and more. She didn't love Lotor, that much was sure, but it didn't feel right to just end things like this. 

The only reason it didn't feel right was because he had manipulated her enough to make sure that she would feel guilty about leaving him. She wasn't blind; she knew exactly what he was doing, even if he thought she didn't know. Lotor was a complicated person, and as much as she wanted to help him, she knew that she could only do so much. Enough was enough, and his mind tricks were getting tiring. They had been fighting more and more, and she hated it.

She knew that Allura was right when she had said that she had changed, too. Her normally sassy and sarcastic attitude had changed, and all she was left with was a shadow of her old self. She didn't feel like herself anymore; she felt empty. She felt like she was drowning in herself, drowning in her thoughts and unspoken opinions. She was like a slave, in a way, only being allowed to talk about certain things and at certain times in fear of being shunned by him. It wasn't like her, and she hated herself for allowing someone to make her feel inferior. 

The more that she thought about it, breaking up seemed like a good idea. 

Allura thanked Shay before looking down at Pidge. "You've been awfully quiet for the past five minutes. I already told Shay the sizes and she says that she'll make sure that they all get to us by the end of today. Are you alright? You seem kind of lost in your thoughts."

"I'm just thinking of how Lotor has made me really doubt myself and how I don't like it."

"Well, it's like I always say, 'nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.' If he isn't making you happy, then you need to drop him and let him go for good. No more of this silly 'he's guilt tripping me,' no, none of that. He's toxic, and you need to—"

"Drop his ass? Yeah, I got the memo. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I'm going to talk to him later to end things between us, and I don't care what he says," she declared proudly. 

Allura grinned. "You've finally come to your senses! I'm so proud of you!" She crushed Pidge in a hug, the smaller girl's ghost of a smile slipping as she struggled to get out of Allura's embrace. 

"I can't breathe!"

Allura's eyes widened as she looked at the entrance of the store, letting go of the smaller girl. Pidge sighed in relief, rubbing her arms. "You hug really hard. Are you sure you're not some goddess with super strength?"

"She's my goddess," a voice said from behind her. Pidge groaned, looking at Shiro with a bored expression. "What?" He asked, looking down at her with a grin. 

"Your PDA is disgusting. Are we almost done? I want to get out of here."

Allura and Shiro exchanged looks, Pidge looking at them with a frown. "What? I want to get out of here. Two hours and counting in a mall is too much for me."

"You could just take the city bus, you know," Shiro said slowly. "That way you could go now—Ow! Allura!" He pouted, rubbing his arm in the spot where Allura had punched him. "What was that for?"

"Shiro I love you, but we aren't going to let her take the city bus. I want to personally take her to her destination after this trip, and I need your car to be able to do so. You don't mind, do you?"

Shiro sighed. "I don't. I'll catch a ride with Matt back home. Oh, and the groomsmen are arguing over what color the bow ties are going to be. I think Lance said something about blue and now he and Keith are arguing over the color. Keith says it should be black, and Lance is still stuck with aqua blue."

"Well, the bridesmaid dresses are going to be aqua blue," Allura said. "Although I'm not sure how an aqua blue tie would look like with a black suit," she said while placing a finger to her chin. "I'd have to see for myself. Pidge, come on."

Pidge groaned louder, getting to her feet as she followed Allura out of the store. "What about the dresses?"

"I already told you that we can pick them up later! I paid for them in advance, and all we have to do is to pick them up. Now come on! I want to make sure the boys don't screw up the bow tie colors."

"They're boys, of course they're going to screw something up. It's like Lotor, except he screwed up his own relationship," she muttered under her breath. Allura raised a brow, Shiro looking between his fiancé and friend with a confused look. 

"What did she say?" He asked as he leaned closer to Allura, ignoring how Pidge's face screamed murder. Allura only shrugged, a secret smile on her lips as she took Shiro's left hand into her right. 

"Secret that won't be such a secret in a while."

Shiro shook his head. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Oh, there's the store." He gestured towards a store that was named 'Jim's Groom Shop,' causing Allura to look at Shiro with a raised brow. 

"You said you didn't like Jim."

"We were seventeen, Allura. Besides, he sells pretty good suits and ties now. He's also the only one who doesn't sell things at an over the top price," Shiro confessed. Allura snorted, attempting to hide her smile behind her hand. 

"I'm sure he is. Well, come on then. Let's go inside before your best man convinces the rest of them to buy neon green ties like his sister wanted to," Allura said dryly. Pidge just scoffed, crossing her arms as Shiro looked between both girls with a confused look. 

"Before you ask, neon green was just a joke color."

Shiro nodded, still looking at Allura in confusion. "What does she–"

"Don't ask. Oh look, there are our lovely groomsmen. Wait, why do they have different colored bow ties?" 

Shiro groaned, facepalming as Matt walked toward, a grin on his face. "I knew I shouldn't have left you alone with them. What did you do now, Matt?"

"Well, since we couldn't decide on just one color, we decided that we're going to go color coded."

Allura and Shiro exchanged looks, looking at him with wide eyes. " _What?_ "

Matt smirked, crossing his arms. "It's pretty smart, right? We decided since your wedding is being held with a theme or whatever that is used for Altea, then why shouldn't we use our Voltron colors?"

"Matt, Voltron is neither silver, gold or aqua blue!"

"But it's an Altean object," Matt replied dully. "This wedding feels more like it's Altean themed rather than gold, silver and aqua blue themed."

"Hey Allura, these colors are great!" Lance said as he walked forward, letting an arm fall around Matt's shoulders. "I love the freedom we're getting! In my opinion, it should've been aqua blue because blue rocks, but man! If you're going to let us have bow ties with the Voltron colors then–"

"Save your breath, twat, Allura isn't going to let you guys choose your own colors," Pidge interrupted. "The bridesmaid dresses are going to be aqua blue, and the bow ties are either going to be black or aqua blue like the dresses."

"This isn't your wedding, Pidge," Lance retorted, leaning down to look her in the eyes. "I want Allura to tell me what she wants, not someone who hasn't even bothered to be involved with us ever since Lotor came around and turned you into some popular girl along with his girl squad who are the Mean Girls of Altea High–"

"Lance," Allura cut in sharply, glaring at him. "You've said enough, thank you. The bow ties are going to be black like the suits unless you all feel comfortable wearing aqua blue, and those are your only two options."

Lance nodded. "That's all I wanted to hear."

Pidge scowled, grabbing his arm before he could walk away. "Lance, you son of a–"

"Son of a what? Bitch? Come up with something more original, won't you?" He shook his arm free of her grasp, leaving her to watch after him with a glare. Matt looked between Lance and Pidge, taking the navy blue tie he had had been wearing off. 

"Can I talk to my sister alone, please?" He asked, Allura nodding and stepping out of the way as Matt pulled Pidge by the sleeve. "Pidge, come on. We're going to get some ice cream from Vrepit Sal's."

Pidge nodded and she followed him, standing by his side silently as he ordered ice cream upon reaching Vrepit Sal's . She clenched and unclenched her hands as Matt led them to a table in the food court, letting her sit down before taking a seat across from her and placing her ice cream in front of her. 

"Thanks," she mumbled, grabbing the ice cream and spoon before taking a large spoonful and stuffing it into her mouth. The cool sensation of the ice cream hitting her tongue made it feel like her mouth was burning, and she started taking larger spoonfuls of ice cream, Matt looking at her worriedly. 

"Pidge? You okay?"

"Never been better," she mumbled through spoonfuls of ice cream. Matt shook his head as he watched her take the tenth large scoop of ice cream, finally deciding to take the cup away form her after watching some of the ice cream leak down the sides of her mouth.

"Okay I think that's enough," he gently said as he took a napkin out of the dispenser on the table, cleaning the corners of her mouth. Pidge scowled, reaching for her ice cream. 

"Give it back, I wasn't finished!"

"I was finished watching you torture yourself by attempting to eat your large order of ice cream in less than twenty bites," he said pointedly, the girl scoffing and crossing her arms. His expression softened and he leaned forward on his arms, looking at her with a sad look. 

"Pidge, I just want to talk. You've been kind of off lately, and I want to know what's going on."

Pidge frowned. "Do you really? Or were you just sent here by Keith so he can prove his point that I was an idiot for dating Lotor? Well here's the big news, I'm a moron for dating someone who I didn't know!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up as she shook her head. "You want to know what's going on? Well here we go. Lotor has become this manipulative, power obsessed bitch who has daddy issues and wants to do everything he can to prove to his parents that he's a good kid and not a screw up like they think he is. He treats me like I'm shit and he thinks I don't notice but I do, and he's manipulating me into staying with him and making me feel guilty for wanting to leave him when I know that nothing good can come from this experience. You want to know what's up? I'm fucked up, that's what's up. So there! Do what you want with that information, and if you're going to leak it to Keith or anyone else I frankly don't give a shit anymore."

Matt frowned, watching his sister's lips quiver as tears pooled at the sides of her eyes. "Pidge, I would never leak your personal shit to Keith. He's made it pretty clear how he feels about the entire situation, and unless he's apologized to you directly, then don't expect me to tell him anything about you. If he wants to know things about your personal life then he has to earn that privilege back. Second of all, why didn't you tell anyone? Everyone thinks you're losing your marbles, Pidge. I mean, even Mrs. Marilyn is worried about you now because she says that mom's been telling her of how you're quiet and not as outgoing as before."

Pidge bit her lip, looking down at the table. "Lotor has changed me, a lot. Even I know that, but things are so complicated, Matt! I want to help him change, but–"

"But nothing! You're not obligated to help change him, especially if he's started showing his true colors. Once a person starts doing things like he's doing now, that means that they can only get crazier. This kid sounds like he's on a road to being a teenage psychopath, Pidge! I care about you, and I don't want to see you hurt by some guy who thinks he can change you and pretend like he doesn't have issues. The decision you should be making is clear as day here. You need to drop his ass before I drop kick him into oblivion."

Pidge sighed, rubbing her arms. "Lotor's the only reason I'm in the situation I'm in now. Can I tell you a secret, Matt?"

Matt raised his brows. "Of course you can. Whatever you say stays between us. Unless it's murder, of course."

Pidge nodded. "Lance and I talked the day we had to be together for a few hours because the baby flour project. He mentioned how miserable Keith was without me, and to be honest? I'm miserable without him too. It's taken me some time to accept it, because I told myself I was better off without him, but I'm not, Matt. I miss my best friend, and I miss my _friends_. We had an argument over wether I should talk to Keith or not and well, I guess he's still mad over that."

Matt gasped. "That's why he yelled at you just a few minutes ago, right?"

Pidge nodded. "Yeah. I know I'm a bitch for ignoring all of you and saying what I said, but do they ever think of how I was affected by what Keith said? Everyone is so buddy buddy with Keith now, and I feel like they're forgetting what happened to me. I know it sounds selfish, but I want people to focus on both sides of the story and not just his."

"Oh trust me, we haven't forgotten your side of the story. What Keith said was wrong, and he's done time for it. We made him say that it was wrong, and we've tried making him say it to your face but he's a coward that won't apologize."

Pidge snickered, wiping the stray tears that had escaped her eyes. "Guess nothing has changed from when we were six," she chuckled. Matt sent her a small smile, stretching across the table, rubbing her arm. 

"More like everything has changed."

Their short bonding moment was cut short as Matt's smile slipped. Pidge frowned, looking at her brother in confusion. "What is it?"

"It's–"

"Hello, Pidge." 

Pidge sighed as she heard Allura's voice, turning around to face her with a tired expression. "Why are you here? You all made it pretty clear that you don't want me around you."

"Actually, that was Lance, but he's agreed to apologize to you like the lovely gentleman he is, isn't that right, Lance?" Allura said through clenched teeth, a small smile on her face. She allowed Lance to walk past her, standing directly next to Pidge. 

"Well?" Pidge asked, brows raised expectantly. Lance sighed, looking down at her with crossed arms. 

"I'm sorry I said what I said to you."

"And?"

"And it won't happen again. I'm sorry."

Pidge nodded, looking down at the table. "Sure it won't. Matt, can we go? I'm tired."

Allura shook her head. "Shouldn't we eat something before you go? It's probably going to be our last shopping mall trip all together for a while, and I want us to spend it actually together at a table. Please, stay?"

Pidge frowned, looking up at Allura. After a few seconds of silence she got up and sat next to Matt, shrugging. "I guess."

Allura nodded and motioned for the boys to sit down, Lance taking a seat across from Pidge and Keith sitting next to him, Hunk next to Lance and Shiro at one of the ends of the table with Allura sitting next to Pidge. They sat in silence for a while, Lance fiddling with his phone while Allura whispered something into Shiro's ear. 

Hunk finally spoke up, breaking the silence. "So did you guys hear about that new cool show  with the elemental bending? I think it looks pretty good."

The tension lessened by a decimal, the others trying to get involved into the conversation about the new tv show that Hunk had brought up. Pidge frowned, tugging at the collar of her shirt while looking up at the faces of everyone at the table. 

Lance looked like he was trying to cover up something, just like he always did back in his freshman and sophomore years when his anxiety and depressing thoughts were at an all time high. Hunk looked the same as usual, with creases in his forehead. From the stress of keeping everyone from tearing her throat out, she assumed. Shiro looked uneasy, and even though he was laughing, she knew it was an act. Allura looked the same, although she looked a little tense as she clung onto Shiro's arm. And then there was Keith. 

She looked at him from across the table, observing just how uninterested he seemed to be about what they were talking about. He seemed like he was there, but his mind wasn't. He quickly turned his head toward her and caught her gaze, the two quickly looking away to the side. Pidge tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, taking a large bite of her ice cream again, which was now melting. 

"But it's not like she'd know since she's in her own fantasy world even when she's at the table with us," Lance said, glaring at Pidge, bringing her back down to Earth. She bit down in her spoon harshly, brows furrowing. 

"What did you just say?"

"I said, you don't know us just like we don't know you. You're always in your own fantasy world with the pretty rich girls and your obviously rich boyfriend where they flatter you with false compliments and false love, but oh, you couldn't accept the real love we had for you."

"Lance–"

"No, Hunk! I'm tired of being shut down again and again by little future Mrs. Sincline here," he sneered, Allura glaring at him. 

"Lance, that's enough–"

"No, it's not, Allura! You wanted me to apologize when I think that she should be the one apologizing to us!"

"Tell me what exactly you think I have to apologize for!"

"Oh, I'll tell you what! You think we like having this argument every time we meet up? You think we like having you around knowing that you'd rather prefer to be with some prissy rich kids who you don't even know? You've made your decision pretty clear on who you want to be friends with, Katie Holt!"

Pidge glared at him. "Go on, I'm waiting to hear what you have to say!"

"Oh you want to hear more? Well here's more! Your decision to leave us for some pretty rich kids was a dick move in the first place, but now you full out ignore what I told you about how we want to change things and instead choose to still stay with the people who you don't really know? You're an idiot! We cared for you and believed you when you thought Lotor was shady, but now you go all crazy and say that we're wrong for thinking he's going batshit insane?! You've changed, and you've become such a bitch that it's hard to even look at you! You're a bitch who can't be thankful for what she's been given, you're selfish and a brat who–"

"You think I don't know that?!" She yelled, slamming her hands down on the table, causing it to shake. Lance looked taken aback, his eyes wide. Everyone at the table looked at her with a shocked expressions, many shoppers looking at them with confused face as they whispered. 

"You think I don't know that?" She repeated in an eerily calmer tone, her hands twitching from the pain of slamming down on the table with such brute force. "I know that you don't like having me around Lotor, and I know that none of you approved it, but I also know that none of you ever cared about me as soon as I left you! It was all about Keith, all about how he acted, nobody bothered to ask me how I was doing except my own damn brother, because you all avoided me like the plague! Like I was some rabid animal that was going to attack you if you even came within a foot of me!"

"You acted like it was all my fault and I know that you all agreed with what Keith said that day about me putting the girls in front of all of you, and fuck it, I frankly don't care at this point. You accuse me of choosing a side when you've all been choosing your own sides since before any of this shit ever happened! You all chose to stay by Keith's side, to not check in on me, to abandon me when I needed you the most to help me with what I was going through! You all focused on Keith so much, but did you ever think that maybe, despite me leaving you for the girls, that maybe I did have a heart? That maybe I was hurt and that's why I ignored you?"

"You all chose to ignore me, even you, Hunk! The only damn reason I talked to Lance was because of Coran's stupid flour baby project which we passed because of me, because I put effort into making sure the fucking bag of flour stayed alive until the next day! It's the same with our friendship. I was willing to go and forgive you guys after a while, but what did you do? Absolutely nothing! You stayed by Keith and talked about me and my choices behind my back which I know is a fact because Plaxum mentioned how Lance let it slip that she better 'make her choices wisely' and to 'not end up like Katie Holt who thinks that's she all that just because she's walking around with some demons dressed as angels.' You're all guilty in my book, and you all abandoned me!"

"That's not fucking true!" Keith snarled, getting up from his chair abruptly. "We tried, okay? We tried calling you, we tried texting you, but you wouldn't pick up so we stopped!"

"You tried for a week, Keith. A fucking week! We've been on thin ice for what is it now, almost three months? During those three months all of you have only talked about how stupid my choices were, but instead of saying it to my face you talk about it in secret like it's only something between you guys, like I'm not the one he's dating! Where were you when he started becoming manipulative? Where were you when he started guilt tripping me into staying with him? Where were you when he started changing me into someone I'm not?!" She screamed, tears rolling down her face as she slammed her hands down on the table again, everyone looking at her with shocked expressions. 

She wiped away her tears, sniffing and glaring at them. "You weren't there like you all promised you'd be when we first became friends. It sucks ass when the people you trust the most talk shit behind your back and expect to receive an apology from the one who's been dealing with more shit than any of you can imagine." She grabbed her bag and got up, turning towards the exit before turning around to face them with watery eyes. 

"Oh, and before you ask? I'm done with Lotor, just like I'm done with all of you for good this time." She brushed past Allura on her way to the exit, Allura getting up rapidly and following her out the door, her hand holding Shiro's keys. Pidge got into the car wordlessly, ignoring Allura as the older woman tried to talk to her. 

"Pidge, I–"

"Take me to Lotor's, Allura! I need to talk to him, _now._ "

* * *

The ride was short, and Pidge spent the entire ride thinking about how she would confront Lotor. Before she knew it, twenty minutes had passed and they pulled up in front of Lotor's house. 

Pidge frowned, pursing her lips as she pushed the car door open and wordlessly stepped out, walking up the path that led to the front door slowly, her stomach feeling uneasy as she walked. Something felt off in the air. It was like that feeling before a thunder storm happened, and she wasn't a fan of those feelings. She finally reached the front door, turning around to face Allura, who was still in the car. 

They caught each other's gazes and Pidge shook her head, Allura visibly sighing and nodding before she drove off, leaving Pidge alone with her boyfriend once more. She reached up the reach the doorbell, but not before noticing that the door wasn't fully shut. She looked at the slight crack in confusion, and hearing various voices filter out from inside, she decided to walk in unannounced. 

With a slight push of the door, she opened it just enough so she could walk in before lightly shutting it closed behind her, walking slowly in the direction of the voices. There were hushed whispers coming from the dining room, and her heart started beating faster when she realized who's voices they were. 

They belonged to the girls and Lotor respectively, leaving her confused. _Why would Lotor leave the door open? He's never too careful. And why are they whispering?_ Quietly, she sneaked closer to the dining room, the doors to enter it closed. She frowned, leaning her head on the door to listen to what they were saying. 

"We just arranged the deal with the gang from the south side of Altea so they could provide us with more of the essential parts we need to create these bombs we're planning to use. They showed resistance but once we showed them the large amount of money you had given us to bribe them with, they gave in and said that they wouldn't break their side of the deal if you didn't."

Lotor nodded, looking at Acxa with a smile. "Excellent work as always, Acxa. Ezor? What can you tell me about the whereabouts of Coran and Allura the night of prom?"

Pidge frowned from her place behind the doors. _Why the hell would he want to know that?_

"They're going to be present at the beginning and based on what Katie told us, they're going to be in the special office room or whatever that's going to be locked off to anyone who isn't Allura or Coran when they have to get the crown and tiara for the prom king and queen."

Lotor nodded, smirking. "It's all falling into place, girls. Soon enough, the last of Alfor's successors will be eliminated, and my father will finally realize that I can go the extra mile to ensure the future of our company. He will place me as the heir to Galra Industries and I will finally have his approval!"

Pidge gasped, her eyes widening as she realized what Lotor was planning. Everything suddenly fell into place, such as why they were asking her so many questions about prom and why they always kept her around. _They had been keeping her around to use her for her inside knowledge._

She felt bile rise up in her throat and she had to swallow it back down, anger taking over her as she realized just how Lotor's desperation to earn his fathers approval would go. He was willing to kill Allura and Coran just so Alfor's company would fall because it would lack an heir and countless others too who would be in the dance hall on that night partying, students who had no idea what was going to happen at what was supposed to be the night of their lives. It was _despicable._

She clenched her fists and without thinking, pushed the doors open so fast and stormed into the dining room, eyes blazing with fury as she glared at the five people in the room. 

"What the hell are you planning?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter!(:


	23. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every action has its own consequences, and Pidge learns that the hard way.

Fear. It’s the driving force behind many things.

It’s fear that makes you say things you shouldn’t, like keeping your true feelings hidden when you know what they are. It’s fear that blinds you to seeing the truth in people. It’s fear that causes pain and anger. It’s fear that sometimes makes you do things you shouldn’t. It’s fear that flashes through people’s eyes when they know that they’ve been discovered, and that there’s no turning back anymore. 

“What the hell are you planning?!"

The fear that flashed in Ezor's eyes was ever so present, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. Acxa’s brows were furrowed and her eyes wide, her lips in a tight line. Zethrid looked plain out shocked, gasping while Narti only shook her head and looked straight into Pidge's eyes. Lotor seemed to be the least shocked one, his brows raised and arms crossed. 

"What does it look like I'm planning? I'm sure you can figure it out since you were smart enough to hide behind the door, thinking that I wouldn't notice." Noticing how her brows furrowed even more, he sighed. "Fine, you caught me. I'm planning a massive dinner party. There, that's my crime."

"You bastard! We both know that you were planning something way more evil than that!" She screamed. Lotor raised a brow. 

"Oh, was I? If you know what I'm planning then why don't you repeat it back to me since you seem so keen on correcting me." He looked at her expectantly, watching her glare at him in hatred. "Well? I'm waiting."

She clenched her fists, taking a few steps forward angrily. "You and I both know what you were planning!" She hissed, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "I won't repeat it, because only an evil creature like you would ever say something so evil!"

Lotor shook his head, looking at her with a cruel smirk. "Pardon me, but if you have anyone to blame it would be the ones who uttered such evil words that you are speaking of."

"Don't play tricks with me! You're the leader, so you're the mastermind of all this!"

"And what if I was the mastermind behind this? What would you do about it?" He asked, letting his head fall onto his knuckles. "Repeat what you heard," he demanded, glaring at her. "I want to know just how much you heard."

She shook her head. "I told you, I'm not going to–"

"Damn right you're going to say it!" He yelled, slamming his hands down on the table harshly. "You're going to repeat to me exactly what you heard!”

"Fine! I heard that you're planning to kill Allura and Coran in cold blood during prom just so you can prove yourself to your dad who has made it pretty obvious that whatever you do won't satisfy him–"

"Pidge, don't say anything else," Ezor interrupted, getting up and looking at her in the eyes. "You're just going to make things worse."

"Don't look at me!" She snarled, glaring at Ezor. "You're all guilty in my book as of right now, and I want so many fucking explanations!"

"And you'll get them! Just, stop! Sit down and let us explain to you what's going to happen."

Pidge shook her head rapidly, backing away as Ezor walked closer to her. "No! Stay away from me, you monster!" 

Hurt flashed in Ezor's eyes and she bit her lip, letting her head fall before snapping up, glaring at the shorter girl. "Fine! Have it your way! Don't say I didn't warn you when everything goes to shit because you wouldn't listen like usual!

"I'm sorry, what did you say? I don't listen to traitors," Pidge hissed. 

Lotor shook his head. "You're a fool, really. Ezor is correct when she says that you're only making things worse for yourself, you know. You want answers? I have a few questions for you first."

Pidge crossed her arms. "I don't have any answers for you anymore. From what I heard, I'm assuming that you've been taking information from me just so you can use it in your plan!" She spat out, looking at Lotor with hatred. "You and I are no more; I'm dumping you and leaving! Hell, I'll report you to the fucking police, and they'll throw you in jail where you belong!"

"But what will you gain from that? It's like you said, you've been the one feeding us inside information that we've been using. If you go out there and tell the police, you're just as guilty as we are. You'll be thrown in jail where you belong," he taunted, mimicking her last words. Seeing her expression turn to that of fear, he smirked. "I see you're coming to your senses. Sit down, and I will explain what you're going to help us do."

"I don't want to sit at a table with a bunch of killers," she growled, looking into Acxa's eyes. The girl in question only looked back at her, the two locked onto each other. "You're all so fucking wrong."

Acxa got up and without breaking eye contact with Pidge, she pulled a chair out for her and pushed her into the seat. Pidge glared at her. "Fuck off!" Acxa only pursed her lips before she sat back down next to Lotor's right, taking one final glance at her before turning her attention back to Lotor. 

Lotor smiled. "Now that everyone is seated, I can finally explain to our dearest Pidge what exactly our course of action is and the motive."

"It's Katie to you, bitch," she hissed, crossing her left leg over her right. Lotor pursed his lips, tilting his head to the side as he looked at her. 

"Alright then, _Katie_ ," he sneered. "I don't understand why you're so outspoken. You've been quiet for the past week, and I've missed this attitude. It's very _intriguing_ ," he said in a suggestive tone, smirking. 

"Fuck off you pervert, and tell me what the hell you're planning!"

Lotor waved her off, taking a sip from his glass. "If you insist. You see, back when Altea was founded, it was only because of an agreement where my father agreed to be co-director of Alfor's company, which, as everyone knows, is the leading company here on Altea as of now. Back then, the Galra and Alteans worked together to make Altea the powerhouse of our state, the capital. Well, after Alfor and my father argued, things quickly spiraled downhill. In short, Alfor ruined my fathers company and left him to rot as he took all the profit."

"No, that's not how things went. Allura told me that Alfor left Zarkon because he was the one stealing all the profits and slowly taking over Alfor's company."

"Do you really trust Allura? She's biased."

"So are you!"

Lotor rolled his eyes. "Let me continue, will you?" Seeing her glare at him, he continued. "As I was saying, the whole ordeal left both my father and Alfor with dying companies, which led Galra Industries to become a rising power, even more so than Alfor's company, for a brief period. When that occurred, Alfor did something that caused my father to be paralyzed from the waist down while he walked off with minor injuries."

"Minor injuries?! The guy can't even lead his own company properly and has to walk with a cane!" She said angrily. "I don't call that a minor injury, Lotor!"

"At least he can still walk," Lotor spat back. "My father lost his ability to walk, and now spends his days in his room with his workers doing everything for him! All my father does now is lay in bed and occasionally look over the affairs of the company because it is shameful to be in a wheelchair and lead a company at the same time in his eyes! My father was gravely injured, and now the witch is the one who looks over the company. My family's entire life has been about the company and looking for cures for diseases, but what did Alfor do? He broke business with them, and broke the contract between the hospital which he owned and my father's company simply because he wanted to keep everything for himself!"

Pidge frowned. "That's not fucking true!"

"How would you know? Because of Allura? Allura and I were once friends, but as soon as my father and Alfor ended their partnership, she decided to go and say that I was just as bad as my father."

"With your plan, you certainly are as bad as your father."

Ezor's eyes widened and she put a hand up to her mouth, watching Lotor's brows furrow and his hands tremble. Acxa's brows shot up as she watched him tremble, looking at Zethrid. Zethrid only looked at Pidge, who looked so proud of herself but angry at the same time. 

"I'll have you know that my plan is the only way to regain honor for my family!"

"Fuck honor! This isn't the right way to bring honor to a family that lost it because of their own stupid decisions! Your family lost all the honor they had once they caused the accident that made Alfor be unable to lead his company! Your family is so fucked up, and all they want is more and more power! This isn't how you fucking lead a company with honor, and Zarkon's ways are poisoning your mind! You're nothing like him, but you've turned yourself into this manipulative bitch who loves having control over everyone else! You're a sick bastard who's willing to kill people in cold blood just because you believe it's the only thing that's going to make your father love you!"

"My father will love me after he sees how much dedication I have to the family affairs and will leave the company in my hands! You wouldn't understand since you come from a low class family who doesn't care about affairs such as these."

"At least my family has honor and doesn't go around killing people so they can manipulate things to go the way they want them to go!"

"Ignorant girl," he snarled. "With Allura and Coran out of the way, Alfor will be left with no successor and his company will crumble. Galra Industries will finally take its rightful place as the head of Altea and will make this town the capital of our state once more!"

"The Galra will only turn this into a living hell hole! All they do is bring destruction!"

"Someone's been spending a lot of time with Allura," Lotor snickered. "With Galra Industries at the helm, we can make this state the best in our country!"

"You fucking dictator," she hissed. "You're going to ruin a perfectly good city!"

"That's only what you think. Your opinion is useless to me. The point is that you are going to help us, wether you like it or not."

"I refuse to help a low life bitch like you!"

Lotor scoffed. "Fool. Ezor, explain to her exactly why she's wrong. I'm tired of looking at her."

"News flash, I've been tired of looking at you during our entire relationship!"

Zethrid coughed, looking at Lotor with wide eyes. Lotor's brows twitched and he nodded towards Ezor, who bit her lip before sighing. 

"Look, Lotor's plan is for the best. Alfor's company has been leading everything here for too long, and it's time for a change. I'm sick and tired of hearing 'Altea this' and 'Altea that,' aren't you? The Galra will bring a better change to Altea and if you help us, you'll be helping the better cause."

"I don't listen to fucking backstabbers."

Ezor frowned and looked to the side, glancing up at Lotor. "I tried."

"Pathetically, at that. The whole reason that Coran and Allura have to be eliminated is so that the Galra can rise and destroy Alfor's company! I will watch the entire company crumble under the Galra, just like I watched Keith crumble without you."

Pidge's glare softened and she looked at Lotor in confusion. "What do you mean by that?" 

"Oh, haven't you heard? The reason Keith crumbled was because you weren't there. Was it not obvious enough from the beginning? The entire point of you being drawn closer to us was to push you away from him and all those pesky friends who were only going to get in the way. They were right, you know. When they said that I'm trouble, they knew. But you were ignorant and pathetic, really."

"You son of a bitch!" She lunged forward at him from the end of the table, Ezor and Zethrid grabbing her before she could jump on Lotor. "You fucking asshole! I've changed so fucking much because of you when all you were doing was using me! I could've spent my senior year making plans to visit places with my real friends,  but instead I'm here with a bastard who only uses me for what he wants!"

"Pathetic, really." Lotor leaned forward, smirking. "You really thought I cared about you? Or that any of us cared? You're only fooling yourself, Katie."

"I knew you didn't care when you took me to meet your parents," she spat out, snarling. "But I never thought that the girls who acted like my friends, like they genuinely cared for me, would be the basic bitches that Keith warned me about!"

Ezor frowned. "That's not true! We were going to tell you, but not like this!"

"Oh and what did you expect, for me to react better than I'm reacting now? You're a pathetic bitch, Ezor. A pathetic, stupid, whore! All of you! I trusted you and what did you do? You lied to me like I was one of the store managers at the stores you shoplift in! You all betrayed me! I thought I found the people who were my real friends, the people who would be my people!" She screamed, her eyes watery. "Everyone fucking uses me like I'm their toy to be play with, only to be tossed out when they decide they don't want me! I'm so tired of being treated like shit by everyone who meets me! I'm not a fucking slave for all of you!"

Acxa took a deep breath in. "Nobody said you were a slave."

"Well you fucking treat me like one! Has it ever occurred to you that I have feelings? I don't want to be here, I don't want to see your faces ever again! All my so called friends do is betray me, and stab me in the back! I'm so done with being everyone's doll. I'm leaving, and you can't stop me!" She kicked Zethrid and Ezor, the two girls releasing her and she made a dash to the door. Before she could make it, she was pushed against a wall, her arms pinned down as Lotor looked down at her with fury blazing in his eyes. 

"Listen here you little bitch! You're not leaving until I say you can leave!"

"And who's going to stop me?"

"If you take one step out of that room, then your family and close friends will be in for a world of pain, and when I promise something, I never break it. So why don't you take a seat so we can finish talking this over? Don't make me regret giving you a second chance."

Pidge glared at him before falling to the ground, Lotor letting go of her and returning to his chair. "You son of a fucking bitch, I hate you so goddamn much."

"The feeling is not mutual. I like you, you know. You're smart and pretty, but your attitude is the bad quality here. You're too outspoken. No wonder no boy would have you before me," He snickered. Pidge growled. 

"Fuck off, daddy issues, and tell me what exactly your plan is for prom. I want to know just how fucking crazy you are."

Lotor sighed, putting his feet up on the table. "Well, if you insist. You see, since prom is being held at the Castle of Lions, we figured that we would have no issue with unleashing our plan of planting a bomb in the room where Coran is going to be when he's goes to retrieve the crowns. Since Allura is always by his side, then we are going to make sure that they're in the same room when the bomb goes off."

"Just how big is the explosion going to be?" Pidge asked, looking down at the table. "I want to know just how many other people are going to get hurt because of your bullshit plan."

"Bullshit plan? More like a genius plan. The bomb will be powerful enough to bring damage to the entire hall, so I imagine that everyone in that party hall will either die or be gravely injured. Just a few sacrifices for a good cause."

"This is fucking insane! Your dad doesn't fucking care about what you do, so what the hell makes you think that he's going to care now?! People don't change overnight, Lotor! Your plan is so flawed, and your mind is so poisoned by the idea that your dad is going to miraculously accept you back home with open arms because you kill his enemies!"

"It will work!" Lotor snapped, standing up and glaring at her. "He's going to notice just how much passion I have and how much I deserve to be allowed to have future control over our company! He's going to see that I'm worthy of the Sincline name!"

"You can't even get in," she hissed. "You're exchanging back to Galra High, and people from other high schools are not allowed to go unless they have a date from the school!"

Lotor grinned. "That's where you come in. You see, you're going to be my eyes inside of the school. You will help me plant that bomb, just like you'll help me with the actual plan of what's going to happen that night."

"Or what? You'll kill me too?"

"Only your family and close friends, of course. You're too precious for me to kill."

"You're insane, you know that?"

He crossed his arms, looming over her with a smirk. "Aren't we all? Your not the saint here either, Katie. Dumping friends after friends? You're a slut, but with friends. A huge slut who doesn't think before she speaks. You've been badly influenced by Keith. Tsk tsk, such poor behavior–" He was cut off by a slap to the face, Pidge glaring up at him with hatred. 

"Don't fucking talk about Keith! He was right about you, hell, everyone was right about you! You're a crazy, psychotic, manipulative bitch with huge fucking daddy issues! You're so blind! Don't you see that your father hates you? Don't you see that everyone around you hates you? Look around at how lucky you are to be alive right now because if I had any ounce of power like yours, you'd be dead and the assassin I hired would be on his merry way! You have so many fucking issues, issues that I can't fix, no matter how badly I want to to fix you! You're beyond repair, and you're hopeless! You're fucking hopeless because all you know is how to manipulate people and you don't know what the hell people want! You're a fucking bitch who deserves to rot in hell for the rest of your life!"

Lotor frowned, pursing his lips. "No, my dear. I think that's you. Look at how lucky you are that we came around and picked you up when you left the only other people that could've potentially cared about you. You're the hopeless one, because all you do is walk away from something when it isn't in your convenience, and end up blaming others for the consequences of your actions."

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

"You pushed everyone you cared about away for us, and even though you claimed you trusted them, you still ran into our arms and left them. Then you complained that they left you, but you were the guilty one here. Nobody forced you to join us, nobody forced you to give us information. You could've listened, but ultimately, the blame is on you for not listening to everyone else, even though you claimed to trust them. You're a fool, Katie Holt, and now you have to deal with the consequences by yourself, because nobody other than us is going to have you."

"You've pushed your friends away for months, and I doubt they'll want you back. You're either alone and suffering, or you're with us and suffering. If you continue to help us, then you're safe, but if you don't?" He chuckled darkly, leaning down and tilting her chin up. "If you don't, you'll face dire consequences. Everyone you care about will go through hell, and you will go through hell. You're stuck with me, for the rest of your life."

Pidge glared at him, her fists trembling. "You're a monster," she hissed. "You're just as bad as your father, and I'm leaving!" She stood up and ran for the door, Lotor taking a hold of her hair and tugging it hard. Pidge hissed in pain, halting as Lotor pulled her back towards him. 

"You aren't allowed to leave without my permission!"

"Fuck you and your permission!" She kicked him in the balls, causing him to wince and kneel down on the floor in pain. She then took a hold of his arm, twisting it and holding it behind his arm. She heard a popping noise and everyone else in the room winced, Lotor especially. 

"You popped my arm out of its socket! Woman, are you insane?!"

"Not more insane than you. Let me tell you something, Lotor. You don't fucking own me, and I make my own goddamn decisions. You don't dictate my life, and you have no right to be in it anymore either. So do me a fucking favor and leave me the hell alone, because you will regret is as much as I regret ever dating you knowing that everyone hated you," she whispered into his ear, her tone deadly and serious. "Goodbye, Lotor. Rot in fucking hell!” She them let go of his arm and ran out of the house as quickly as she could. 

It was pouring outside, and she cursed internally. _I can't stay here, Lotor is going to kill me once he manages to get up._ She looked down the street in the general direction of her house, taking a deep breath. _If I run, I'll make it home in a half hour._ Looking back inside, she quickly shook her fears off and ran in the rain, running home, running away from Lotor, running away from the girls who had betrayed her. 

_I'm running and running but I can't run from the consequences. I fucked up. So much._ She continued running, ignoring the way the rain burned as it hit her in the face. She was ignoring everything and everyone, making sure not to slow down or to look back. _I'm not turning back. Not now. Not ever._

* * *

Lotor grimaced as he popped his arm back into place, the sound of his bones popping back into place making the others in room wince. The girls were all stunned by the events that had taken place, and Ezor was cursing internally. 

She had feared that something like this was going to happen. Sure, the girls were going to tell Pidge eventually and explain how they were only doing it to save their families from being on Lotor's hit list, but things had happened to fast that she couldn't control it. Everything had spiraled downhill as soon as Pidge walked in through those doors, and she couldn’t stop it. Fear was the only thing that was running through her veins as she shared a look with Acxa, who was pale in the face. 

Ezor walked over to Lotor quietly and looked down at him, watching him get up. He grunted in pain and clutched his shoulder, turning over toward Zethrid. “How long has she been gone?”

“Not long. Why?”

“I want to run her over.”

Zethrid’s eyes widened. “No, you can’t do that!”

“And why not, Zethrid? Would it somehow offend you?” Lotor growled, glaring at her. “She’s offended me enough and if she isn’t going to be of any help, then she needs to be eliminated before she opens her mouth and tells everyone our plan!”

Ezor took a deep breath crossed her arms. “You’ve threatened her enough for one day, don’t you think? Besides, it’s not like you gave her many options. She’s stuck between helping you and having everyone around her live, or not helping you and watching everyone around her die because of you. Do you really think she’d say no after that? Stop being an idiot.”

Lotor frowned. “I’m not so sure about that. She’s become unpredictable.”

“Unpredictable to you because you never even got to know her!” Ezor shouted. “She was right when she said that you were only keeping her around because of your stupid plan, and we all know it! Seriously, how long did you think your cover could go on for? She knows, and if she comes back to you it’s because she cares about everyone around her, not because she cares about you. She cared about you once, she even admitted it now! But you’re so obsessed with power that you manipulate people when it’s in your best interest even though you know pretty damn well that you’re going to get rid of her anyways, even if she helps!”

“So what do you propose I do? Just let her be? No, she has dug her grave and now she must lie in it for the rest of eternity. If I feel like keeping her around and not having her killed, then she’ll spend the rest of her life by our side.”

Zethrid furrowed her brows. “Our side? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Lotor chuckled. “You really thought you’d all be rid of me after high school? You must be fools if you think I’d let you go so easily. The true fool there would be me letting you go, which is why I’m not.”

“Why?”

“My dear, we are all bonded by this secret about what will happen during that fateful prom night. I need to make sure that all of you stay in line and don’t say anything to anyone about the elimination of Coran and Allura. If that means that I have to have you around for life, then I won’t mind. Unless, of course, you want to be eliminated as well,” he said in a dangerous tone, looking into Zethrid’s eyes. “I highly doubt you’d want that, am I correct?”

Zethrid only looked down, her lips forming a frown. Ezor gasped and glared at Lotor, her fists clenched. “You can’t do that to us! You can’t treat us like slaves! You can’t treat us like Pidge!” She yelled hysterically, silenced by Lotor. 

“Silence, Ezor! None of you are being treated like slaves!”

“Yes we are,” Acxa said softly. Lotor frowned, turning his head sharply to face her. 

“What did you say?”

“I said, that yes, we are being treated like slaves.” She raised her head up and glared at him, walking slowly around the table to face him. “You treat us like we’re slaves even though at the beginning you treated us like we were your friends; your allies! But now, all you do is give us orders and expect us to follow them because that’s how you treated us for so long that it’s like a routine, and I’m sick of it. When I talked to Keith, he genuinely seemed so distraught when he mentioned the break up between him and Katie. You ruined something precious, and a turned her into this person who gets treated like a slave and shut down when she tries to share even one joke with you!”

“She’s right when she says that you’re insane. Your plan is crazy, and only a lunatic would do something like this. You’re insane, and slowly losing a grip on reality. Sooner or later, you’re going to be in an asylum or prison because of your behavior. You lost a girlfriend today, but you lost us as genuine friends at the beginning of senior year.”

Lotor looked at her in shock, his eyes wide with disbelief. “I never expected to hear those words from you. Acxa, you’ve been by my side since freshman year. You’ve been the closest to me and you’re suddenly swayed by some girl who you took a liking to? You are all unbelievable!”

Zethrid shook her head. “Sorry, but you’re the one who’s unbelievable here. Your lies just aren’t something we believe in anymore.”

Ezor nodded. “We’re staying here for the plan, but but we’re leaving as soon as we can after it’s all over. We don’t want to be around you anymore, Lotor. You’re just going to destroy yourself, and we don’t need to be around when that happens.” She looked him straight in the eyes, frowning. “You were a good guy once and we understood your pain, but now? You’re just a villain with no way to redeem yourself.” She tugged on Acxa’s arm and pulled her along, Zethrid and Narti following them. 

Lotor snarled. “You’re all fools if you think you can get away with this! You’ll face consequences! I did so much for you and now you’re siding with the one who just said she didn’t want to see you ever again!”

“See you at school, Lotor,” Acxa said sharply before she walked out, the girls following her as if she was their leader, leaving Lotor to throw his glass on the floor, the glass shattering into tiny pieces. He proceeded to scream and step on the glass angrily, not caring how dangerous it was as he felt the glass getting stuck onto the sole of his shoe. 

He was angry, but he didn’t know at what. Was he angry that his plan was being called crazy by everyone? Or was he angry that the people who he had considered to be his friends had just left him?

* * *

Pidge raced up the stairs of her house, fumbling through her small handbag for her keys. She was soaked to the bone, her hair stuck to the side of her face and her clothes stuck to her body. She unlocked the door and slammed it shut, alerting her parents that she was home.

Sam poked his head around the corner, his brows raised in concern. “Katie, are you alright? You’re soaked! Colleen, our daughter is soaked!”

Colleen walked out of the kitchen and gasped, running over to Pidge. “Katie, you’re soaked to the bone! What happened? I thought you were catching a ride home with one of your friends! Matt, come down here!”

“What’s going on?” Matt asked, running down the stairs. His eyes widened when he saw his sister standing in front of Sam and Colleen all wet and flushed. “I’ll go get some towels and warm clothes!” He rushed back upstairs, fear racing through his veins as he remembered what she had said that she was going to do. 

_Did Lotor really get that mad at her about the break up that he made her walk home in the rain? That son of a bitch is going to die._ He rushed back downstairs, wrapping a towel around Pidge’s shoulders, the girl only looking down at the floor quietly. 

Colleen frowned, attempting to look her daughter in the eyes. “Katie, sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

Matt looked at his sister in concern, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Was it Lotor? What happened? Did you fight with Allura on the way there?”

Sam frowned. “Katie please, you have to talk to us! We’re worried.”

“I hate boys and I hate fake friends,” was all she managed to whisper before she burst out crying, tears running down her face, tears that she had managed to keep in while running all the way home. She was shaking uncontrollably, her hands clenched and her clothes making a puddle of water on the floor. 

Colleen and Sam exchanged looks, and Matt felt his heart break as he heard her speak. _Son of a bitch it was Lotor!_ He quickly took his sisters hands into his own and held them softly, before Pidge threw her arms around him and hugged him, Matt hugging her back and not caring that she was getting his clothes all wet. 

“Shh, it’s okay, Katie. I’m right here. Your brother is here, and he’s going to take care of you. I promise that no one is going to hurt you anymore. Not on my watch.” He felt her grip around him tighten and he hugged her tighter, Pidge holding onto him like he was a life line as she sobbed freely, her tears staining his shirt. 

Colleen and Sam both hugged her too, the trio hugging the crying Holt and doing their best to comfort her. Pidge felt safe in their arms, and she only hugged Matt tighter, allowing herself to cry more. 

“Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe. You’re here, and we’re not going anywhere. You’re safe.”

Those were the only words that she needed to hear before she sobbed even harder, her body trembling as she desperately hung onto this one moment where she was safe. Just for this one, brief moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the angst keeps coming and it won’t stop coming.


	24. I Won't Give Up On Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wedding bells are ringing, Coran is a photographer with a mission, and Keith has to make the decision on wether he'll keep being a coward or a man.

Weddings. They're supposedly the happiest day that a couple could experience, the day when a couple ties the knot and can proudly say that they are bound to each other in matrimony until death does them apart. For Shiro, weddings were nothing but anxiety.

He had grown up seeing grooms hyperventilate and even run away from the altar on rare occasions, one after another. He had seen one groom faint just as he was about to place the ring on his wife's finger, the image of the horrified look on his aunt's face ingrained into his memory. So when his own wedding day came around, saying that he was nervous was an understatement.

He was _terrified_.

Keith sighed as he watched Shiro pace in front of him, the older man sweating profusely and his cheeks red. They were at the park where the wedding ceremony would be held, the white cloth hanging off of the trees like a veil. The chairs all contained an aqua blue ribbon that had been tied back into a bow behind them, flowers at the end of each row, a color of pink. Juniberries, if Keith remembered correctly. Shiro was a mess, and he was getting on Keith's nerves.

"Shiro for the last time, you aren't going to drop the ring!"

"But what if I do?! What if Allura thinks my vows are too cheesy? What if I accidentally faint?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "You're not going to faint, Shiro."

"But uncle Ryuo did!"

"We don't speak of uncle Ryuo at weddings. The guy is bad luck, " Keith stated dryly. Shiro's eyes widened and Keith realized his mistake, his own eyes widening as he frantically waved his hands in front of Shiro. "No no I was only kidding!"

"I jinxed my entire wedding!" Shiro moaned, Lance looking at him with a confused expression.

Walking over to Keith, he frowned. "What did you do to Shiro?"

"I literally only joked around with him and now he thinks he's cursed his wedding. Shiro, your wedding is going to be just fine so stop complaining!" Keith shouted. Lance winced, looking at the raven haired boy with a concerned look.

"Are you okay? You seem kinda pissed off."

"I'm fine. It's just that _she's_ going to be here and she also happens to be my partner when we walk down the aisle before Allura. I'm terrified," Keith confessed, clenching and unclenching his hands in from of him nervously. "She doesn't't like me, Lance."

"You know, I could see you guys as a couple. You're both bitchy and sarcastic, so you'll form the ultimate sass couple."

"Not funny!" Keith said, his cheeks flushed. "It's not funny and you know why!"

"Yeah yeah you like her and whatnot. Dude, just go for it. Talk to her," Lance said, putting a hand on his hip. "I already apologized, and so should you."

"When did you apologize for the whole mall ordeal?"

"The day after we went to the mall. I stopped by and talked to her, but she seems to be kind of a mess right now. She looked like shit," Lance said, his brows furrowed. "We both apologized for yelling at each other and talked about some stuff, and I think she wants to talk to all of us."

Keith raised a brow. "Are you sure you aren't hallucinating? Pidge doesn't just forgive that easily."

"Now you sound like me the entire time after our flour baby project. Quit being so stingy and listen!"

"Okay okay I'm listening!"

"Pidge dumped Lotor and I think it didn't go so well with him and the other girls because she never once picked up her phone during the entire time I was there. Sure, I wasn't there for a long time but it was long enough to see that she doesn't like her phone."

"And?" Keith asked, looking at Lance expectantly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that something really bad happened because was acting like she was scared of talking to me and she was looking at her phone that she only used to talk to Lotor's girl squad like it was the plague," Lance said. "Don't you see? They told her something and now she's really letting it get to her. She might not seem like it, but she needs our help. We can't help her if you don't even _try_ to talk to her!"

"Charity donations. Slipping money under her door. Anonymous letters filled with checks."

"I'm not talking about money, Keith!"

Keith sighed. "Yeah I know you aren't. But what kind of help does she need? She doesn't even want to talk to us."

Before Lance could reply, the sound of someone throwing up reached his ears, causing both him and Keith to turn around to see what had happened. Keith's eyes widened as he watched Shiro throw up in a bag, his face flushed.

"Shiro no!"

"Keith it's too late. Call mom and tell her I love her," Shiro said, clutching his stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick again. I don't understand! This is the happiest day of life! I'm not supposed to be throwing up. I mean, I'm getting married to the woman I've loved since high school for crying out loud!"

Matt walked up to him, concern written all ove his features. "Are you okay?"

"Does it look like I'm okay?! Matt, help me. I really want to marry her, but I also want to stay how we were before."

Matt frowned. "You're having second doubts? I thought you loved Allura."

"No no of course I love her! I'm just, scared. You know what I mean?"

"Can't say I do since I'm not married yet."

"Emphasis on the 'yet,'' Lance said, snorting. "Marisol doesn't want to get married yet and neither do you. What's up with that?"

Matt shushed him. "Shush! This is about Shiro, not me! Shiro, look at me," he said, turning Shiro's face towards him. "Shiro, you're going to get married to the love of your life. You guys have gone through so much and have stayed strong, and it's honestly scary how you guys can fall but come back stronger than ever together. She's good for you, and you're good for her. Do you think she would choose to marry you if she thought that you weren't worthy? She has standards. You're a good guy, Shiro, so stop worrying because you're going to be an amazing husband."

Shiro sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Do you really think so?"

Matt nodded. "I know so. Anyone would be lucky to marry you," he said, smiling at him. Keith looked at him from the corner of his eyes, Matt catching his gaze and shaking his head. "You'll be fine."

"He better be fine because the guests are starting to get here," Lance murmured, watching Hunk lead them to their seats. "Why am I nervous? I'm not even the one getting married!"

"Because of Plaxum," Keith replied in a bored tone. "She's all you've been talking about for the past month. Do you like her or something?"

"No! She's just a really good friend."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Been there, done that. Well, whatever she is to you, good luck. At she likes you enough to not purposely avoid the wedding rehearsals so she can avoid you."

Lance sighed. "Talk to her. That's all I'm going to say." He walked off to help Hunk seat the guests before Keith could speak up, leaving the raven haired boy to to stand next to his brother and Matt, who were both chatting about something to help calm Shiro's nerves. Going back to what Lance said about Pidge, Keith couldn't help but worry about what was up with her.

He had seen a blur run past his house in the rain on the Saturday when she had blown up at them, but he didn't know that it was her. He thought that it had probably been Matt, but after hearing that Pidge was sick during the week and seeing her not hang out with Lotor's girl squad for the remaining three weeks until the wedding, he suspected that she had been the one he had seen. Adding onto this weird new development, there was the fact that Lotor nowhere to be seen for the past week and a half. There had been rumors that he had been kicked out, but Shiro told him that Lotor was finishing some papers for Galra High since he had been mysteriously been transferred back, unbeknownst to him.

He knew it was only a matter of time before Lotor returned to Altea, but he was relieved to not have him there, even if it was for a brief while. Going back to his thoughts on Pidge, he had noticed that she was nowhere to be seen during lunch and was always alone during study hall. He wanted to know if she was okay, but there was something holding him back from talking to her. Maybe, just maybe, the wedding could fix that. He missed her.

"Keith, the bridesmaids are here," Matt whispered into his ear, causing him to jump. Matt only frowned, looking at the boy with furrowed brows. "You okay? Jeez, it's like both you and Shiro have the same jumpiness levels today."

Keith shook his head. "I'm fine. Just, kind of concerned."

Matt's eyes widened and he crossed his arms, looking at Keith suspiciously. "You're not going to yell at her today again, are you? She's not in the best state right now, and I don't want anymore boys hurting her. Especially you."

Keith furrowed his brows, confused. "Wait, what do you mean by 'I don't want anymore boys hurting her?'" Seeing how Matt froze, he glared at him. "Matt. What did you mean?"

Matt sighed. "I'm not telling you everything, but Lotor and Pidge has a very rough breakup apparently. The guy was too attached and now he won't stop trying to contact her, even if he isn't going to your school at the moment. She's been kinda quiet and off, and I don't want her to feel more awful because you say some shit to her. I care about my sister a lot, you know," Matt said, glaring back at him. "And if you do talk to her, try to make some peace. I'm getting real tired of seeing you pine after her."

Keith gasped. "I'm not–"

"Are we really doing this again, Keith? Seriously, just talk to her." Sighing again, he placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. "She needs her best friend to help her," he added softly, causing Keith's eyes to widen.

Hunk walked over to them, a huge smile on his face. "Guys, they're here! Allura's behind them."

Matt grinned. "Did you see Shay yet?" He teased, causing Hunk to blush. "Well? Did you?"

"They're all really pretty. Come on, we need to meet them by the big oak tree over there so that Shiro doesn't see Allura yet." Lance placed an arm on his shoulder, grinning.

"He just wants to be close to Shay."

"Yeah, just as much as you want to be close to Plaxum."

Lance placed a hand on his heart, shaking his head. "Ow. Hunk, I though you know me better! It's all for Shiro's wedding!"

"Not to be that person, but the girls are already at the oak tree," Matt stated, looking at said oak tree a few feet away from the seats where the guests were seated. Lance gasped and grinned.

"Hell yeah! Come on, Keith!" Keith had no other choice but to follow him, stumbling slightly as he tripped over his own feet. Hunk and Matt followed the two in amusement, eventually reaching the bridesmaids.

"Plax! You look gorgeous as always," Lance flirted, taking her hand and giving it a light kiss. Plaxum giggled and blushed, grinning.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Lance. Hey Shay, look. It's Hunk!" She watched Shay stop talking with Pidge and Allura, the girl turning around with a huge smile on her face.

"Hunk! It's so good to see you again."

"Same here," Hunk said, scratching the back of his neck. "You look really pretty," he said, blushing. Shay smiled.

"You're so sweet! Wait, Plax, where's Coran and Alfor? They're supposed to walk Allura down the aisle! Don't tell me they got stuck in traffic," she moaned, facepalming. Plaxum smiled comfortingly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure they're on their way here as we speak. Don't worry, they'll make it." She turned away from Shay and looked at Keith, as if she had just noticed that he was there. "Oh, hi Keith."

Keith awkwardly smiled and raised a hand. "Hi."

Allura raised her head up, and looked at Keith with a smile. "Keith! How's Shiro?"

Keith smiled. "He's a nervous wreck, but he's excited. Don't worry, he's good. How are you?"

"Can't say I'm any different," she confessed, looking to the side. "My nerves all over the place."

"But you love each other. Not to be offensive, I don't know why getting married is such a big deal when you've been dating the person for years. You guys were already practically married before today, so nothing is going to change. You're going to be fine, Allura, and just like I told Shiro, you guys are going to be the best power couple out there. Don't worry," he reassured her, watching Allura sigh.

"I'll try not to."

Keith nodded. "Good."

Pidge sighed, looking up at Allura with a smile. "You'll do great, Allura. I'm going to talk to Shay and try to find out where the hell Coran and Alfor are." She waved and walked off, Keith ignoring her.

"You're really not talking to her? Keith, I want the happiest day of my life to be the happiest day of my life for everyone else too," Allura said firmly.

Keith shrugged. "I'll experience that if I ever get married or graduate."

Allura chuckled. "I have no doubt that you're going to get married in a few years. Perhaps when you're in your twenties," she teased, watching Keith shake his head.

"You play too much. Anyways, the only girl who I've considered as being my future partner isn't talking to me, so."

Allura rolled her eyes. "Listen, Keith. I need you to forgive her as soon as possible, because let me tell you, that girl is one of a kind and if you let her go your entire family and the Holt's will kill you. You two are literally soulmates, and we've all seen it since we watched you grow up at each other's side. Don't let her go, especially over something that can be fixed. Just, do me a favor and talk to her. I want this to be free of awkwardness."

Keith sighed and nodded, watching Pidge wall towards Allura with a small frown. "Sure."

"Allura, we managed to track down Coran. They're in the parking lot and they probably have a lot of tickets from speeding through red lights, according to him." She shrugged.

Allura snorted. "That sounds like something that Coran would do. The ceremony is about to start," she said, nervously licking her lips. "I'm not sure I'm ready."

"Allura, you're beyond ready. You love Shiro, he loves you, what are you worried about? You're ready," Pidge said, a smile on her face. "Trust me."

Allura bit her lip before nodding, Lance calling out to all the bridesmaids and groomsmen to assemble in front of him. "Alright guys, this is it. Allura's finally getting married to Shiro, and we need to make it a special time for the two love birds. It's time to get in formation and walk down that aisle before Allura it Shiro decide to run away."

Matt nodded. "Alright, you heard the guy. Let's get in formation!" Everyone cheered and laughed, arranging themselves in the position where they would walk down the aisle together.

"Alright, Keith and Pidge are up first," Matt called out, the two in question sighing. They walked to the front of the group slowly, standing stiffly next to each other. Matt rolled his eyes.

"You do know you have to walk together, right? That means that you have to put your hand through Keith's elbow, Pidge!"

Pidge sighed and Keith grudgingly offered his arm, Pidge reluctantly putting her arm around his, holding her own small bouquet of flowers with her other hand. "There, are you happy?"

"There now, that wasn't so bad!" She heard the rest of the group snicker behind her, causing her to shake her head and tap her foot impatiently.

"Hmph."

Keith awkwardly looked around, the pressure of her arm around his ever so present. His heart was beating fast, and he was sure that his face was flushed. Pidge, on the other hand, was both annoyed and flustered at the same time. Her stomach was doing somersaults and she felt nervous.

"Coran, you made it!"

Both turned around and watched Allura hug both Coran and her father, the trio holding onto each other tightly. Pidge sighed and smiled. If Allura wanted this day to be special, then she was going to try as hard as she could to make sure that her stupid argument with Keith wouldn't get in the way. Keith felt the same thing, deciding that even if he didn't make peace with her today, that he would try to be civil. It was all for Shiro and Allura.

"Now that Coran and Alfor are here, we can finally start the ceremony. Sound the bells!" Matt said, standing in front of the flower girls and ring bearer, Marisol wrapping her arm around his.

Pidge sighed, the bells ringing, signifying the beginning of the ceremony. The guests stood up and Shiro stopped looking down and instead looked up, watching them all make their way down the aisle. Keith looked down at her.

"Ready?"

Pidge's eyes widened before she nodded, the two taking a step forward together as they walked together down the aisle. It felt surreal, and walking with Keith felt so right. She spotted her mother smiling and on the verge of tears, Sam taking pictures of the duo walking. She mentally rolled her eyes, maintaining a smile on her face until they made it to the front, the two separating and watching the rest of the group walk down the aisle.

Lance and Plaxum walked in after them, followed by Hunk and Shay, who were finally followed by Matt and Marisol. Pidge watched Shiro's eyes widen as he saw the flower girls scatter petals on the floor and the ring bearer walk down the aisle, watching Allura walk down the aisle behind them in awe. The dress she had was like a rose, the bottom edges trailing behind her and her arms and neck were covered in lace. He saw her smile through the veil, his nerves being slightly swayed. Putting away his fears, he smiled.

Allura reached the front and the guest clapped, some murmuring about how beautiful she looked and others about certain pairs that had walked before of her. Allura looked at Shiro, the two taking a seat in front of the celebrant. He started speaking, and Pidge watched Allura and Shiro sneak glances at each other in amusement.

She suddenly felt the urge to cry, smiling like an idiot while watching Shiro and Allura look at each other like they were made for one another. Glancing up at Keith, who had a fond smile on his face as he stared at Shiro, she let out a small sigh. He looked really good with an aqua blue bow tie, but red was definitely his color.

She was interrupted by Mateo walking up proudly with the rings, handing them to the celebrant. He gave Allura's ring to Shiro and instructed him to place it on her finger, allowing him to recite the vows that he had memorized.

"I, Takashi Shirogane, take you, Allura, as my lawfully wedded wife, to have an to hold, from this day forward, for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do us apart. I promise to love you forever, and I promise to take care of the family that we will have one day as best as I can. I promise to treasure you and adore you and make you feel like the goddess that you are everyday, and I promise that I will never stop loving you."

Allura smiled before she plucked Shiro's wedding band out from the celebrants hand, placing it on Shiro's finger and holding his hand in hers, reciting her vows.

"I, Allura Altea, take you, Shiro, as my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do us apart. I take you to be my life partner for eternity, and will never leave your side. I promise to be there for you and you need me, and I promise to love you forever."

The two smiled at each other and the celebrant coughed, a smile of his own on his face. "You may kiss the bride."

The couple kissed, and the guests clapped with fervor. Pidge spotted Matt wiping away a tear, causing her to snicker as she clapped. Plaxum sighed dreamily, placing a hand on her heart.

"This is so sweet!"

The groomsmen and bridesmaids proceeded to walk down the aisle again, their heads held high and their smiles genuine, the feeling of happiness running through their veins. Keith offered his arm to Pidge and she sent him a small smile before taking it, the two walking down the aisle together.

"That's the future couple! Say cheese, I need it for the album!" Sam called out, his camera held out in front of him.

"Katie sweetie you're doing amazing!" Cheered Colleen from the sides, causing Pidge to groan and Keith to chuckle lightly. Matt snickered as he heard his parents, glancing back to make sure that she wasn't angry. To his relief, she looked annoyed but happy.

When Allura and Shiro proceeded to walk down the aisle again, the guests stood up and clapped, throwing petals from the small bags they had been given at the beginning full of juniberry petals. Allura and Shiro laughed as they were assaulted with petals, quickening their pace as they met up with the group at the end.

Matt grinned as he watched Shiro wall up to him, hand in hand with Allura. "See? Nothing went wrong, just like I told you! All we have to do is get the pictures taken and the reception over with, and you'll be free to do whatever you guys want."

"And when he says whatever, he means whatever," Lance teased, wriggling his brows before receiving a shove from Marisol. "Ow! Mari!"

"You deserved it. Where are we taking pictures anyway, Allura?"

"We were thinking maybe somewhere fun, you know? Somewhere memorable."

Marisol grinned. "Allura, lets go to the place we went to after prom."

Allura's eyes widened and she grinned, turning to look at Shiro. "Can we? I think that'd be perfect!"

Shiro smiled. "Anything for you."

Matt cleared his throat, standing in front of all of them. "Alright ladies, now let's get in formation!"

"Prove to me that you've got some coordination!" Lance yelled, grinning. Pidge groaned, putting a hand on her hip.

"Really? In front of my young innocent eyes?"

"You haven't been innocent since you were five," Lance stated bluntly, the two looking at each other before giggling. Allura sighed, shaking her head in fond amusement.

"We have an hour and a half to take pictures. Let's get to the limo before anyone else finds out where we're going. I'd rather keep the pictures with just us an no other guests," Allura said, tugging Shiro along as she made a beeline for the limo.

The others only laughed at her eagerness as they made their way to the limo, climbing in one by one. The ride was full of jokes made by the newlyweds and Coran's wild stories about his own wedding. It was also full of chanting to order food at McDonald's, Allura scolding them and saying that they were going to eat food at the reception. It caused a loud chorus of 'aw's,' which was fixed by Lance blasting music that they all started dancing in their seats to.

They made it to the small area where Allura had said she wanted to go, and everyone couldn't believe their eyes. It was a small pond with a bridge leading to a small island in the middle where there was a swing inside a small house adorned with lights. The area was calm and peaceful, with no one around and the water glistening in the sunlight.

Lance whistled. "Damn. You guys came here after prom? For what?"

"Fooling around like a bunch of teens," Allura replied. "We jumped into the water in our prom outfits and the memory of my father yelling at me about how I had a fever the next day is still very vivid."

Alfor chuckled. "Let's stay away from hopping into ponds today, alright? We're here to take take pictures, not to push each other into the water," he stated dryly, looking at Matt and Lance. The two just shrugged in response.

Coran forward, dusting imaginary dust off his pants. "Well? I'm ready to take pictures of all of you precious younglings!"

Pidge raised a brow. "You're the camera man? What happened to Henry the camera guy?"

"He said he went to go buy coffee and left his camera in his car, so I took it upon myself to bring it here so I could take fantastic photos of you! Allura and Shiro, get into the small house! Allura, you'll sit on the swing and Shiro will hug you from behind. Chop chop!"

Allura and Shiro both rolled their eyes before they walked over the bridge, walking into the small house. "Do you even know how to take pictures, Coran?"

"Don't question it, Allura!"

Pidge and Plaxum watched him take pictures of the newlyweds in amusement, the others chattering amongst themselves about various topics. Plaxum sighed, smiling. "Wouldn't you like to experience what they're feeling right now?"

Pidge blinked, looking up at Plaxum in confusion. "What?"

"Wouldn't you like to get married to feel happiness like they do?" Plaxum repeated, looking down at Pidge with a smile. "I'd love to get married one day. I just hope that I'm as lucky as Allura and that I'll find someone who really does love me like Shiro loves her."

Pidge shrugged. "I'm never getting married. Boys ain't shit, especially boys with daddy issues."

Plaxum raised a brow. "What?"

"Nothing. But yeah, I don't think I'll ever get married."

"That's stupid. Of course you're going to get married! Your real life hasn't even started yet, so don't give up. I'm sure you'll find the person for you. Who knows," she said, glancing back at Keith, who was laughing about something that Matt had said, "maybe the person has been in front of you all along." She winked at Pidge before walking towards Shay and Hunk.

Pidge pouted, looking around. "Who am I supposed to talk to now?"

"Pidge, come here! And bring Keith with you! It's time for the groomsmen and bridesmaids to take pictures alone!" Coran called out, waving at them from his place on the bridge. Pidge rolled her eyes and walked towards him, Keith following after her.

They two made their way over the bridge and into the small house, not noticing Allura and Shiro wink at each other.

"Keith, you have to take some pictures with Pidge for the album. Everyone's going to have their turn, but you two are up first. You have to pose exactly as Coran tells you to pose," Shiro said, grinning as he watched Keith gulp.

Coran smirked. "You heard the man. Now Pidge, lean into Keith with an arm wrapped around his torso!"

Pidge rolled her eyes and Keith shuffled around, allowing her to place an arm around his waist. She reluctantly hugged his waist with her right hand, holding her bouquet in front of her with her left. She looked into the camera with a frown, Coran shaking his head.

"No frowns, only smiles! And Keith, put you arm around her shoulder! This is a wedding photo shoot people, so big smiles and huge each other like you mean it damn it!" Coran yelled, Pidge and Keith both frowning before smiling into the camera, Coran taking pictures of them from different angles.

"Ah yes! Now Pidge, turn to the left and let Keith put his arms on your waist."

Pidge's eyes widened. "Coran what the hell?!"

"It's all for the album! It's a standard pose, really. Now do it!"

Keith swallowed the spit in this throat before putting his arms on her hips hesitantly, Pidge tensing up and Keith blushing like crazy.

"Beautiful!"

He made them change poses twenty different times, the poses getting more romantic as they passed until Coran asked Keith to place a kiss on her cheek, and that's when she put her foot down.

"Coran, no. I'm done with this. I'll see you guys back in the limo, I'm too tired for more pictures," she muttered, walking out of the small house while shaking her head. "Stupid pictures."

She made her way to the limo, leaving Keith to watch after her with a frown. He turned around to Shiro, glaring at him. "I get that this is your wedding, but this is ridiculous. I'm going to talk to her later, but don't push me to do it when I'm not ready!" He shouted. "I'm going to take a walk. Call me if you need me or whatever." He walked off, leaving Coran, Allura and Shiro to look at each other in confusion.

"That was standard protocol for poses though," Coran muttered. "Well, maybe not the kiss but the rest were."

Allura shook her head, smiling. "Let's just get the rest of the couples in here. Shay, Hunk! Come here! It's time for your pictures!"

* * *

The reception was held in a banquet hall a few miles away from the park, Matt moaning in dismay upon finding out that his phone was dead.

"Dead already? I wanted to record my speech!"

Pidge snorted from her place next to him at the table, shaking her head in amusement. "Don't worry. If it's any consolation, mom and dad have been recording the entire wedding. I'm sure you can send yourself your speech."

Matt shook his head. "But I wanted it to go on my snap story!"

Lance grinned. "Don't worry, I've got you covered. I'll record it on my snap and post it, then send it to you later. I'm a genius!" He said, leaning back in his chair with a grin on his face. Pidge snorted.

"More like an idiot. Matt, both Lance and I are going to record it so don't sweat it, okay? And make sure to not be too graphic when you give your speech or Allura's going to strangle you. I'd like to see you live until my graduation," she said flatly, Lance snickering.

"Knowing him, he's going call Shiro his boyfriend ten different times during the speech."

"Matt's extra but not that extra. Twenty bucks says he says it six times."

"You've got a deal!" Lance and Pidge shook hands and laughed, Keith watching them from the corner of his eye with a slight pout on his face.

Hunk sighed. "I'll switch seats with you after Matt gives his speech so that you can be closer to Pidge."

Keith's eyes widened. "What?"

"You can do this, man," Hunk said, patting Keith on the shoulder lightly. "You've got this. Oh look, Matt's standing in front of Shiro and Allura's table!" Everyone looked up and watched Matt fix his bow tie before coughing.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen! In case you don't know already, my name is Matt Holt, also known as Shiro's best friend and neighbor for twelve years. First of all, I would like to say that Allura looks gorgeous tonight! Secondly, I'd like to give a shoutout to all the bridesmaids, who look beautiful as always, especially the maid of honor, Marisol. Now, I honestly didn't expect Shiro to ask me to be his best man, and thought that he would ask someone else, but I am very honored to be standing here giving this speech as said best man. To start, let me go back to our early years."

"I met Shiro twelve years ago, when the both of us were about to start middle school. Although we didn't know each other that well, we became quick friends after the first few times he came over, and have been inseparable since then. I've been his partner in crime since I met him, and on quieter occasions, have been there to listen to him on random nights talk about life and his hopes and aspirations. Over our twelve long years of friendship, we've done a lot together. We've gone on a cross country road trip with Allura and Marisol, hiking, swimming and have gotten drunk together on numerous occasions."

"And just like all friends, we've had our ups and downs. Sometimes it would be about petty stuff, like who would eat the last cookie or sometimes it would be about serious things, like who would take care of our flour baby that we got assigned to take care of during senior year. But the argument that I can remember the most clearest was the argument we had over a fair Miss Allura, who had transferred from a private school to Altea High during the middle of freshman year. You see, Allura was the prettiest girl in school at the time, and everyone was hoping to catch her attention."

"Shiro and I argued over her and wether she was a good person because she was very outspoken and loud during class arguments, and while Shiro admired how she didn't conform to what she was told, I thought she was being a prissy rich kid. Ultimately, Shiro invited her into our small trio, which consisted of him, Marisol and of course, me. Let's just say that Shiro was whipped after talking to her for the first time, and everyone could see it except him and her. Me being me, I was cautious around her, still believing that she was just using Shiro for popularity. I was proven wrong so many times and it wasn't until I hear Shiro confess to me that he loved her that I finally understood everything. I finally understood that she made him happy, and that the only reason they weren't together was because of my jealousy."

"You see, I was afraid to lose my best friend. I didn't want him to be one of those guys who changed because of his girlfriend, but I should've known better than to think that Allura was one of those girlfriends. She actually came up to me once before they got together as an official couple and had asked me so many questions about Shiro, and when I asked she only said 'we're going on a date and I'm nervous as fuck.' Well!" The crowd laughed, Allura rolling her eyes in amusement from her seat next to Shiro.

"It wasn't until I saw them together on a date once that I realized just how darn happy they made each other, and since then, I've been supporting their relationship for nine years! I guess the point of this speech is that even if things change and you don't like them, it doesn't necessarily mean they're bad changes. It sure wasn't a bad change when Shiro stopped chasing after a girl who wasn't worth the time of day and instead went after the girl who would treat him right. I mean, look where we are now! We're at their wedding!"

"Change is good, because it brings about experiences that you never would've experienced you had stayed in the same, straight lane for the rest of your life. Sometimes you need to swerve off a little and experience something now, like Shiro did. If he stayed in the straight lane, he would have continued to just wave at Allura during passing and would have never had the courage to ask her out. Change is good, and both Shiro and Allura can testify that their lives changed for the better the first time they talked to each other during sixth period lunch."

"Ladies and gentlemen, raise your glasses to my very best friend Shiro and his beautiful new wife, Allura. To Shiro and Allura!"

"To Shiro and Allura!" The crowd cheered, chugging down their glasses after Shiro and Allura did. 

Pidge chugged her glass down, looking at Lance with raised brows. "So who wins the twenty dollars?"

"Matt does because his speech made me cry. Who knew your brother could be so sincere?"

Pidge shrugged. "He's sincere when he wants to be. Either way, that speech was actually really good. I love how he left out the parts about Allura decking him in the face for calling her a prissy rich kid though."

Hunk whistled. "Wow. What a woman. Hey Keith, mind switching seats? I want to sit closer to Shay." Keith glared at him before getting up reluctantly, Hunk flashing him a thumbs up. "Thanks dude, you're the best." He sat down in Keith's seat and Keith sat down in Hunk's, Pidge talking to Lance about what sort of bets they should make. He paid no attention to them as he played with his glass, only listening when he heard Lance clear his throat and stand up.

"I would love to continue this, Pidge, but I've really gotta pee. I'll be back in a while. Meanwhile, why don't you talk to Keith?" He winked at her before getting up and walking away, leaving Pidge to stare at the table. Keith tapped his foot rapidly on the floor, drumming his fingers on the table. Glancing up, he caught Allura's gaze and she narrowed her eyes, tilting her head towards Pidge, as if she was telling him to talk to the girl.

Keith licked his lips and hesitantly looked at her, tapping his foot more rapidly. He glanced back at Shiro, who was glancing between the two of them, whispering something into Allura's ear. She laughed, and Keith shook his head. He ran a hand through his hair, determining what the positives and negatives were about talking to her.

 _The positive reaction would be that she talks back and we have a civil conversation. The negative reaction would be that she'll kick my ass and cause a scene because of our mall trip and the wedding pictures._ He glanced up at her and saw that she looked peaceful, a small smile on her face as she watched Allura and Shiro laugh. _Fuck it_.

He sighed,opened his mouth, and without thinking, he asked, "Do you ever realize how short you are?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow new chapter? Even I surprise myself lolol. The next chapter is going to be a continuation of this chapter. Also, season five dropped yesterday and I can't stop screaming over it because it was AMAZING. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	25. Who Am I When I Don’t Know Myself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith decides to man up rather than to be a coward, Lotor makes an unexpected appearance and Pidge is a wreck.

In life, there are always memories that stand out to all of us. Those are the memories that we either treasure and love the most, or they're the memories that we want to forget but we can't seem to get out of our minds. There are memories that haunt us, and memories that we never want to let go. Pidge had her fair share of both. 

There were some memories that she treasured, like building the treehouse in her yard with her friends a few years back. There were also memories that she wanted to push to the back of her mind, like when Shiro and Matt got into an accident that ultimately resulted in the amputation of Shiro's arm. Another more recent memory that she wanted to forget was her time with Lotor, who had brought nothing but pain into her life. There were certain memories that she thought she would forget, but turns out, she couldn't forget them.

"Do you ever realize how short you are?"

Her eyes widened and the memory of their first meeting flashing across her eyes, clear as day. _"You're so short!"_ Just as quickly as she remembered it, she quickly forgot it as she frowned, turning to look at him with confusion. "What?"

Keith jumped, looking as if he was surprised that she had actually replied. "I asked if you ever realize how short you are because you are pretty short–"

"No no I heard, I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't having hearing problems," she replied dryly. Keith scoffed.

"Hearing problems? First it's glasses and now hearing problems? You're getting old pretty quickly."

"Yeah and if you keep saying stupid things like that then I'm going to get grey hairs and you might as well call me a grandma," she said in a tired tone. "There are better ways to talk to a person than asking if they ever realize how short they are, you know. I could've kicked you."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Keith said, shrugging. Pidge looked at him suspiciously, Keith sending her the same suspicious look back. "Why are you looking at me like that? Stop looking at me you creep."

"Stop talking to me, you jerk."

"You started it by looking at me!"

"No, you started it by talking to me instead of minding your own business!" She replied, glaring at him. Keith glared back at her before his eyes widened, as if he had just realized something. Pidge looked at him in confusion, one brow raised.

"Why do you look like you just discovered that aliens are real?"

"I kinda feel like we've had this exact conversation before," he said, looking down at the table in confusion. "Did we ever have a conversation like this?"

Pidge shrugged. "Dunno. Have we ever had a conversation like this?"

"I mean, you did hate me twelve years ago."

"Who says that changed?" She asked, looking at him with raised brows. "I still hate you, you know."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Yes, that totally explains why you're talking to me. Bravo, Pidge."

She sighed exasperatedly. "I already told you that I wouldn't be talking to you if you didn't start up the conversation!"

Colleen and Sam both looked up from their spots at the table next to them, exchanging a look before Colleen called out. "Katie, what happened?"

"My personal space is being invaded by a germ called Keith."

Keith raised his hands, looking at her incredulously. "Seriously?! All I'm trying to do is start a civilized conversation!"

"Oh yeah, and thats totally how you start up a conversation, by asking someone if they ever realize how short they are. Your communication skills never fail to amaze, Keith," she said dryly, pouting. Keith rolled his eyes.

"But it was just a simple question! I want to know if you ever notice how short you are, is that so bad?"

"Maybe you should look in the mirror if you want to know how it feels to be short," she said amusement, the corners of her lips turning up as she smirked. "After all, you are short yourself." She laughed at her own words, Keith scowling.

"Hey! Look at who's being the bully now!"

"I only laughed because it's true. Face it, you're short!"

"Not shorter than my patience with you!"

Pidge gasped, placing a hand to her heart. "Damn, using the big words again! I'm so scared!"

"That's it!" He turned around, crossing his arms. "I'm not speaking to you anymore. Screw what Allura asked me; if you're going to be rude then why should I be nice?"

Sam coughed, smiling awkwardly. "Kids, you two need to find a way to fix your issues without yelling at each other. You're going to attract the attention of everyone around you if you keep arguing."

Colleen nodded. "Your father is right, Katie. If you two are going to argue, then you might as well go do it outside where no one can hear you."

Pidge scowled. "But it's cold outside. I'm not going outside for anyone, especially Keith."

"You know, you're pretty annoying," came a remark from next her. She groaned, turning to look at him with narrowed eyes.

"Look who's talking. Mom!" She turned back around to talk to Colleen, only to find her mother shaking her head in disappointment. She groaned louder and turned back to staring at the table, remembering what Allura had told her before they had walked into the party hall.

_"Talk to him."_

_"No."_

_"My only wedding wish is for you two to get along during my special day. Is that so impossible to ask for?"_

_"Possibly."_

_"You two are the most impossible people I've ever met."_

Pidge frowned, looking at Allura before looking back at Keith, sighing. "Did Shiro ask you to try and get along with me for today?"

Keith frowned, turning back around to face her. "What?"

She snorted. "Look at who needs hearing aids now. Before you ask why I'm asking, it's because Allura told me that in order for this day to be 'absolutely perfect' that we needed to actually talk."

Keith shrugged. "Actually, Lance told me that, not Shiro. Oh, and Allura."

"Son of a bitch."

"Katie," came Sam's warning tone. She sighed.

"My bad. Son of a motherfucking bitch. Is that better, dad?" She asked, Sam only shaking his head. Keith raised a brow.

"Pidge watch your fucking language."

"Keith!" Came Aiko's call, who looked horrified. "We don't say words like that!"

"Nice," commented Pidge, who was smirking as she watched Sam and Aiko talk, presumably about their use of foul language. "My mom has accepted it, but I still think my dad is struggling with coming to terms with the fact that I'm no angel."

"You have literally never been an angel. All you do is curse and hit people."

"That's how I show affection," she said, shrugging. "With certain people, anyways. What's the point of saying 'I love you' as a form of affection? You can love anything. Personally, an 'I miss you' is more affectionate because it's hard to find yourself missing someone, just like punching someone is a form of affection because I say so."

Keith raised a brow. "You know, you actually had a point until you said that punching someone makes sense just because you say so."

"It makes perfect sense."

"Oh look, you're finally talking!" Lance smiled as he slid into the seat in front of her, looking between the two in amusement. "Shiro told me you guys looks like you were arguing and at first I didn't believe him, but then I remembered who you guys are."

Pidge raised a brow. "Oh really? And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" She asked, looking at him suspiciously. "Are you insinuating that I'm strange?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Lance, before you say anything,at me just say something. In case you haven't noticed, I'm weird. I'm a weirdo. I don't fit in. And I don't want to fit in. Have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on? That's weird."

"You're not even wearing a hat!"

"It could be imaginary for all you know," Keith replied, crossing his arms. "They should invent an imaginary hat. I'd totally buy it."

"If nobody can see your hat then what's the point of wearing one?" Pidge asked. "You'd just make yourself look like an idiot."

Keith shrugged. "I already look like one according to a lot of people, so there's really no harm in wearing an imaginary hat. Also, I'm hungry," he complained, looking around. "Why does the other table get the food before us? We're the guests of honor for crying out loud!"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Now you sound like me at any social event. Calm down, the food will get here in a while. In the meantime, did you watch the show Hunk was talking about? Because I totally did, and I'm in love with everything, especially the funny guy with the boomerang. That guy's my hero!" He said, grinning. 

"I thought Shiro was your hero," Pidge said dryly. "Why would boomerang guy be your hero? All he does is make food jokes."

"At least he isn't some guy who's hell bent on bringing honor to his dad who doesn't even care about him!"

Pidge frowned, looking to the side. "Well isn't that funny?" She muttered. Lance raised a brow, looking at her suspiciously

"Don't tell me that you actually liked him!"

"Oh I did. His character arc was so well planned, and I loved how he found out who he was just in time to avoid becoming like his father. But the princess? Yeah, she's my favorite."

"Why? Her brother was better than her," Keith said, pouting. "She was just psycho who had too many mommy issues."

"You insensible asshole; she became a monster because her mom was the one who called her that. Wouldn't you feel bad if your mom called you a psycho? I'm just glad she didn't get a redemption arc, because if she did I would've hated the show. It's okay to give villains redemption arcs, but not to every villain. That would just be stupid."

Keith shrugged. "I liked her brother better."

"Yeah, because you two are exactly the same without the scar," Lance retorted, smirking. "You both have horrible hair and have a fiery attitude. Maybe that's why you liked him."

"Maybe. But Allura is totally the water bender girl. I mean, the motivational speeches about having hope? It's totally her."

PIdge snorted. "Matt can be the flying buffalo."

Hunk sighed from his place next to Keith. "It's a flying bison, Pidge."

"How would you know? You thought the show was new three weeks ago when it aired like fifteen years ago!" Pidge said, amusement all over her features. "We all had a horrible childhood without this show. Other than the crazy princess, I loved the blind earth bender. She's an inspiration to all of us that can't see what we're doing."

"You're not blind," Keith pointed out. "How is she an inspiration to you?"

"I'm blind without my glasses, Keith. Contacts saved my life for the umpteenth time today. Also, she's exactly like me attitude wise. We both use force as a form of affection."

Keith sighed. "For the last time, force and violence isn't a form of affection–"

"Maybe not to you, but it sure as hell is to me. You're just scared of the shoulder punches," she teased, Keith pouting.

"No I'm not!"

"What a big baby."

Lance smiled watching the two bicker, turning around towards Shiro and Allura, sending them a thumbs up. He turned back around to the group, watching Pidge stick her tongue out childishly and laugh, Matt looking at her fondly from his seat next to Marisol. It felt so good to see her smile and laugh again; it put his mind at ease that Lotor hadn't completely fucked her up. But he was still hesitant, because this could be last day that she actually talked to them like she was now. Deciding to not let his fears get the best of him, he sent her one last fond smile before turning back to Marisol.

"Anyways I love the girl who had the face paint. She's so cute and badass," Lance said. "She reminds me of someone, but I don't know who." The trio around him looked at him incredulously before turning to look at Plaxum, who just looked at them in confusion.

"What?"

They groaned and Shay smiled sympathetically, placing a hand on Plaxum's arm. "Don't worry."

"Lance, Plaxum is literally the embodiment of face paint girl," Pidge said. "I don't know how you didn't realize that."

"Some people can be really dense," Keith commented, shrugging. Pidge nodded.

"Agreed."

Hunk and Lance looked at each other with tired looks. "Yeah, totally dense," Lance muttered before looking up, noticing that the waiter still hadn't appeared. "Are you serious?! I'm hungry!"

"Quit complaining, you sound like my grandma. Well, at least what I would imagine my grandma to sound like. Never met the woman," Pidge said, shrugging. The others chuckled in amusement before going back to talking about the show, Pidge watching them with a smile. 

As much as she hated to admit it, talking with them made her feel happy. She hadn't realized just how much she missed talking to them, and she sighed. It felt like a dream, being able to talk to them. But there was still a part of her that told her to be hesitant and to not talk too much, because they were the ones who hurt her after all. _Curse you, Lotor. You put these thoughts into my head,_ she thought before her phone buzzed. She looked down and picked it up, a sinking feeling in her chest when she read who the sender was. _Lotor._

Lance stopped talking and looked at her in concern. "Are you alright? Your face looks like you just found out that you failed a test," he joked. Pidge frowned.

"I'm fine," she snapped, causing a look of hurt to pass over his features. Noticing it, Pidge's eyes widened. "Shit I'm sorry, Lance. I'm fine, seriously."

Keith frowned. "You just looked down at your phone and frowned, you're not fine. What's wrong?" He demanded, causing Pidge to scowl.

"I don't have to tell you everything, Keith. Now fuck off before I change seats," she threatened, looking down at her phone. "You don't deserve to know everything if you haven't been through the shit I've been through." 

Keith sighed, looking at her with a hurt expression before turning to look at Lance. "Lance, what were you saying again?"

Pidge frowned as she looked at Lotor's message. 

_Lotor: Meet me outside. I need to talk with you._

She shook her head.

_Katie: Fuck you, no._

Almost immediately, she got a reply. 

_Lotor: I will walk in there if I have to. Meet me in the front within the next five minutes or else I will crash the wedding._

_Katie: You're insane._

_Lotor: Four minutes. The clock is ticking, princess._

She scowled and stood up abruptly, causing the others to look up at her in surprise. "Where are you going?" Lance asked, his browns furrowed. "The food is coming!"

"Outside. I need air." She walked out of the doors, her friends and family looking after her in confusion. Keith stood up to follow her but catching Aiko's look, he sat back down and frowned, tapping his fingers on the table. Something felt off, and he wanted answers. Sure, Pidge was very very bipolar, but that didn't mean that she would just storm out of a wedding for no reason. No, there was something that she was hiding from them. He just didn't know what it was.

* * *

Pidge frowned as she walked out, spotting Lotor's figure sitting on the front steps. Lotor stood up once he heard her walk out, crossing his arms behind him and smiling. "Katie. You look gorgeous as usual."

"Quit the bullshit and get straight to the point. I'm not here for flattery, Lotor. If I'm here, its because I don't want Allura's big day to get ruined."

"Oh, it's Allura's wedding? Congratulations."

Pidge scowled. "You say that like you genuinely care, as if you aren't planning her demise. You're sick."

Lotor shook his head. "My dear–"

"Don't call me that!" She snapped, her brows twitching angrily. Lotor sighed, tilting his head as he looked at her. 

"You're such a complicated person. Come on, lets take a walk. I'll explain to you exactly what our course of action is."

"Like hell I'm going anywhere with you. You're crazy, and I'd be even more crazier to walk with you all alone."

Lotor rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to do anything to you. I need your help, and it'd be stupid for me to hurt you when everyone knows that you aren't particularly fond of me."

"They don't know about your plan, so be thankful that I didn't say anything. I could easily tell everyone about your plan."

"You won't say anything because you'd only be throwing yourself under the bus as well. You're getting so ahead of yourself. Come now, lets take a walk. I need to talk to you about the plan, and what your role is in it." He offered his arm, and she shook her head, glaring at him.

"I can walk without taking your arm, you know."

Lotor shrugged. "Suit yourself." He and Pidge walked down the stairs and onto the sidewalk, walking down the street slowly. As soon as they were a safe distance away from the building, he cleared his throat. "Since the day you so graciously stormed out of my house, I've been thinking about what you said."

"About what? I said a lot of things you know."

"About my ideas. Once I understood what you meant, I started thinking of ways that I could delay their deaths and still get what I want. You see–"

"Hold on, 'delaying their deaths?' If your plan still consists murder, then I'm not taking any part in it," Pidge said, glaring up at him. "I don't condone murder, Lotor. Maybe the Galra do since you're always stabbing each other to death in the southern side of Altea, but I am not going to murder someone, especially someone who I consider a close friend!"

"I haven't even finished speaking! And stop yelling, you're only going to attract the attention of the neighbors," Lotor said, frowning. Once he was sure that Pidge had shut up, he continued. "As I was saying, my new idea is somewhat different than my original one. This one involves me talking to Allura and slowly gaining her trust, only to take advantage of her and seize the company when the time is right. She wouldn't necessarily have to die yet, but she would die after I manage to get a hold of Alfor's company."

"What you're saying makes no sense because Allura would never trust you, and because the plan sounds so stupid! Murder is wrong, and I can't believe you'd kill someone just to get what you want."

"Victory or death has always been the Galra way, and I am a Galra."

Pidge shook her head. "You're part Altean too, and you know it. Your mother is Honerva, for crying out loud! She was one of the few here who helped Alfor advance and make Altea what it is now. If you end Altea Industries and fuse it with Galra Industries, you're going to ruin this city! There's a reason why Alfor is the one who leads Altea and all its affairs, and theres a reason why Altea is one of the most recommended places to live in. Altea would be ruined if the Galra took over, because you don't know how to rule without manipulation and being crooked. Altea would collapse. This is like the stuff they teach us in school; it'd be bad for the people living in Altea and Altea itself in general."

Lotor shook his head. "You misunderstand what I'm trying to achieve. I am not father; I would never cause Altea to crumble. While he might be an absolute ruler who would love to watch Altea crumble, I have no interest in doing so. I would run Altea in a peaceful way, one that doesn't involve killing anyone. I know what the Galra want, and if given to them, then they will stop being so violent. The death rates would drop and everyone would be happy! Don't you see? Leaving me as the ruler of Altea would help fix the things that Alfor can't. I could fix this and turn Altea into the powerhouse that it once was; the capital of our state."

Pidge glared at him. "Lies. Every word is a lie! You're just looking for an excuse to allow Altea to collapse. You don't know anything about being the head of state, much less being the one to overlook a company. Sooner or later you're going to stop focusing on fixing the things that are wrong and then you're going to fuck this place up! Altea has been my home since I was born, and we've been safe because Alfor has kept the Galra suporters all in one small area. Altea would fall under your leadership, Lotor. You're not fit to lead Altea!"

"The only reason my people are supporting us is because they know they'll have more rights under the Sincline rule! Galra Industries might be corrupt now, but I am not one to lead a corrupt state. Altea is the crown jewel of the state, and having it be corrupt would only turn it into the laughing stock of the country! I am not my father, and I am trying to help both sides," he said, frowning. "You only see me as the bad person, but have you considered that I could actually be a good leader? My ideas would improve Altea and have it be the top city in the state! All I'm asking for is your help, which you will provide."

"I've told you since the day that I found out that I'm not going to help you!" She spat out, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to glare at him. "I'm not helping you kill someone!"

"You have no choice. Like I said before, if you don't help me, more people that you care about will get hurt. Since you don't like this plan either, then I'll just go back to the original one. You may not think I'm sensible, but I am. This is for the greater good of Altea, and you need to realize that."

"This is just you wanting to bring stupid 'honor' to your father. He isn't going to care!"

"And do you think I haven't realized that?!" Lotor snapped, glaring at her before taking a deep breath. "You helped me realize that my father isn't going care what I do, and I have taken that into consideration. If he finds out that I was the one who killed the only successors that Alfor has, then he will go after me to ensure that he has control over Altea. If he were to do that, then what you fear will become a reality. Altea will crumble, and in its wake, my father will bring chaos to this town. Altea is my home just as much as yours, and I want to lead it so that it will continue being as great as it was years ago."

"Allura and Coran could both lead Altea and change it into the capital of the state too, you know. Both have been around since Altea's golden years, back when it was the city with the most advances in medicine! They could rule ten times better than you and could start a new golden age in Altea! Just admit that you're power hungry already and leave me the fuck alone because I am not going to help you kill someone!" Pidge yelled, Lotor quickly putting a hand over her mouth.

"Shut up! You're going to attract the nosy neighbors. As for what you were saying, Coran is as old as Alfor, and both could drop dead at any given moment while Allura wouldn't be able to lead because she'd have children since she just got married."

Pidge furrowed her brows and pushed his hand off her mouth, glaring at him. "So having kids automatically means you won't be able to be a good leader? Honerva was a leader alongside Alfor and your father, and she led most of the experiments for finding cures for diseases, which she achieved, all while you were in her fucking stomach!"

Lotor crossed his arms. "When a woman has children, her mind is often focused on them and she cares more about them than anything else. Think of it in a political way, Katie, not as in a friendship way. Would you rather have a leader who isn't focused on making Altea as it once was, or a leader who is focused and will fight to make Altea the place it once was? Think with your head for once and not your heart."

"I'd rather have the leader who got into the position legally and not because of foul play," she hissed. "I said it once, and I'll say it one more time. I'm not helping you, so find another bitch to manipulate because I'm so fucking done with your bullshit!" She turned around and started marching back to the reception, Lotor growling and grabbing her hair harshly.

"You don't get leave until you agree to my terms!"

"Enough with the hair!" She yelled, kicking his leg with her heel. Lotor winced and let go, and she took the oppertunity to bolt back to the reception. Lotor looked after her with a scowl on his face, watching her sprint towards the reception. 

"You're going to regret it! You're going to regret everything, mark my words, Katie Holt!"

Pidge only ran faster, not caring that her legs were burning and that her feet hurt from running in heels. She needed to get away from him. She ran as fast as she could, doing anything to get away from him. Fear began creeping into her mind, and she feared him. If he was crazy enough to track her down at a wedding just because she wouldn't answer his calls, then he could do worse things. She feared him, and she feared how far he would go to get what he wanted. As she ran back into the reception hall, she wondered if making a deal with the devil himself was the only way to protect her family and herself.

* * *

Walking back into the party hall, she was met by Lance and Hunk, who both wore concerned looks on their faces. She groaned internally, knowing that an interrogation was going to be the next thing to happen. Sure enough, as soon as she stood in front of them, they started spewing out questions. 

"Where were you?!"

"Your food is so cold because you've been gone for almost an hour!"

"We thought you were kidnapped!"

"Why didn't you answer any of my calls or texts?! Your mom was about to send the FBI out to look for you!"

Pidge rolled her eyes and put her hands up defensively. "Guys, I'm fine. Like I said, I needed fresh air. I have a lot on my mind right now, and this whole wedding isn't helping."

Lance frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The whole Keith thing is just really confusing! I hate how it feels so right to talk to him and how much I miss it, and I hate how I'm so easily swayed by him! He hasn't apologized and neither have I, but we still talk as if nothing happened. The atmosphere is messing with my defenses, and they're slowly falling and I don't like it! I just want an apology before I keep talking, because I'm still hurt even though I might not show it. I'm really hurt right now, because life is being shitty and throwing things at me that I don't understand and that I don't deserve. I want this all to be over. I wish we could just go back to the way everything was before Lotor," she whispered, her eyes downcast. 

Hunk frowned. "If you're not okay with talking to Keith yet and need some space, we understand. But you guys are going to have to talk about it someday, because you can't keep dancing around each other and testing how far you can go before everything goes down."

"Yeah we understand. It was really nice seeing you guys talk today, though. It felt like old times," Lance chuckled, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I miss those times before Lotor too, but we can fix it. I _know_ we can fix it. It's only a matter of time."

Pidge snorted, using her fingers to rub her eyes. "If that was a Hamilton reference then you are definitely on my good side right now."

Lance grinned. "Yes! Score one for Lancey-Lance!" 

Pidge rolled her eyes in amusement as she walked back towards the table, Keith and Matt immediately looking up at her. She sat down in her seat and began to pick at her food, Matt looking at her in concern. 

"Are you okay? We were worried about you when you wouldn't answer our calls. You did kinda walk out on us without an explanation," Matt said, frowning. "Pidge?"

Pidge shook her head, sticking corn into her mouth. "I'm fine, Matt. I just needed some fresh air, and I guess I just lost track of time."

"But–"

"I said I'm fine!" She snapped, stabbing her chicken harshly before realizing what she did, slowly removing her fork. "I'm fine," she whispered, but she knew deep inside that she not, in fact, fine. She was dying inside. 

Matt frowned. "Well okay then." Turning back to the crowd that had formed on the dance floor, he grinned when he saw Allura and Shiro dancing in the middle. Lance raised a brow, clearly amused. 

"Who's the DJ? We need him at our prom. Pidge, hire whoever this guy is because he plays some pretty good tunes! Para bailar la bamba," he sang, dancing in his seat to the beat. Plaxum giggled from her place next to him, only fueling him to dance more before pulling her up and leading her to the dance floor. 

Hunk grinned. "Shay, wanna dance?" The girl in question only blushed and nodded, smiling as she and Hunk made their way to the dance floor. Pidge snorted. 

"Ew, romance. Matt, who's the DJ? I need some ideas for prom," she said, looking around and trying to distract herself from her depressing thoughts. Matt pursed his lips, looking around before spotting the DJ. He burst out laughing, causing both Keith and Pidge to look at him in concern. 

"Are you okay?"

"He's got demons," Keith murmured, causing Pidge to send him an unimpressed look. 

"Matt, talk!"

"The DJ is your very own principle Coran!" Matt said, laughing as he watched Coran dance along to the music from the spot where the DJ station was. Pidge grinned. 

"First the pictures, now this? Was Coran this wild at your prom?"

"You have no idea, Pidge. He brought a dunk tank and let us dunk him in the water! Coran is a great principle!" Matt said. He smirked as he watched Marisol shake her head to the beat before whisking her away onto the dance floor, the woman only laughing as she followed him eagerly. 

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Great, now I'm alone."

"I'm here."

"I'm alone," she repeated, stuffing her face with mashed potatoes. "What's new."

Keith rolled his eyes before he stood up, and offered her a hand. "Come."

She raised a brow. "What?"

"Let's dance. I'm bored."

Pidge shook her head. "First you're a jackass, now you want to dance? I knew you were dense, but now you're just an idiot."

Keith sighed. "Look, this night is special for Shiro and Allura. They want us to talk, so we might as well do things together to keep them happy. I really don't want to be that person that ruins someone's day because of my own differences with someone else. So for their sake, let's just try and get along today, okay? Then you can go back to hating me tomorrow and not talking to me at all like we've been doing for three months. Does that sound okay?"

Pidge sighed. "For Shiro and Allura," she said after some hesitation. She got up and followed him into the dance floor, the two standing at the edge and not knowing what to do. "Do you even know how to dance?!" She yelled over the sound of the music, Keith shaking his head. 

"Let's find out with Shiro and Allura!"

The two proceeded to find the rest of their friends in the crowd and copied their movements, Pidge laughing at how stupid Keith looked trying to copy how Shiro was dancing. Keith only rolled his eyes and continued to copy him, shaking and jumping like there was no tomorrow. Pidge sighed and shook her head. 

_He's right. I don't want to be the person who ruins a perfectly amazing wedding either._ Sighing, she looked at Keith and groaned internally. _Curse you, Allura_. She then started to dance like he did, Keith looking at her in surprise before laughing at her. 

"You look so stupid!"

"Thanks, it's an imitation of you!"

Keith only snorted before he continued to dance, the two glancing at each other and laughing as they realized how stupid they looked. Allura and Shiro only shared knowing looks before they started dancing more, the atmosphere lightening up and Pidge feeling much better than she had moments ago. 

It was then that she realized just how much she had missed having fun with her people, and just how much she was going to hate having to go back to not talking to them. _But it's only for Shiro and Allura's big day_. Only for them. Deciding not to dwell on that, she blindly took Keith by the hand and spun him around, Keith looking at her in confusion. 

"What are you doing?!"

"Shut up and let me have this!"

So he shut up and obliged, knowing why she was doing it, because he felt the same thing. He missed her and these moments, and he knew how much it was going to hurt when the night was over and the wedding bliss was over. So he only danced harder, allowing himself to get lost and to feel free. 

He might never have this opportunity again, so if he had it now, he was going to take it and hold onto it as hard as he could. So he kept dancing, and so did she. They were the dancing king and queen, and for once, everything felt just right.

* * *

The party officially ended around twelve, the guests having started to leave around ten. After eleven, Pidge felt the joy start to leave her as she realized that the end was near, and that she and everyone else would continue going back to being wary of each other. _It was only for Shiro and Allura,_ she thought to herself as her parents drove her home, Matt having have chosen to stay with Shiro for a while before he went off on his honeymoon with Allura. 

Arriving home, Colleen and Sam eyed their daughter before Sam cleared his throat. "Katie, there's something we want to ask you."

Pidge raised a brow, looking at her parents in concern. "Yeah?"

Colleen sighed. "What happened tonight? Matt said that he went to check on you outside and that you weren't there. We were worried, Katie. Are you okay? Do you need help with something? I'm here if you want to talk."

"And so am I," Sam said. "We're you're parents; you can tell us everything. 

_Not everything_. "I'm fine, I just decided to take a walk to let my mind breathe. I was stuck around Keith for an entire day after all," she joked, her smile failing to stay on her face. 

Colleen smiled gently. "How are things between you and Keith? Anything new?"

Pidge sighed. "I think it's going to be a while before I fully trust him again, but I'm willing to forgive if he's ready to apologize. At least I know I can have a conversation with him, so that's that," she said as she turned towards the stairs that led upstairs. 

Sam smiled. "I know you two will figure things out. Now go to bed, it's pretty late. Your mother and I are going to go on a late coffee run, but you need to be asleep by the time we get home. That means no late night browsing through social media," Sam warned, shaking his finger. Pidge sighed and smiled softly. 

"I got it, dad. I'm just going to wash off some of the makeup Allura put on my face. Goodnight," she said as she walked upstairs, Colleen and Sam looking after her with small concerned expressions. 

Pidge walked into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, sighing. The eyeliner made her eyes look as if they were doll eyes, and the light pink lipstick made her lips look extra pouty. She didn't feel like herself at all now that she realized how she actually looked. Glaring at herself in the mirror, she quickly turned on the faucet and splashed water onto her face, watching the mascara and eyeliner drip down her face. 

She looked like she was going insane. Her eyes widened and she shook her head, immediately grabbing a towel and rubbing it all over her face harshly. _I'm not insane. I'm not going insane_. She scrubbed harder, until she was sure that every trace of makeup was gone. _I'm Katie Holt, and I'm not going crazy_. She looked at herself in the mirror and slowly, one by one, tears began to slide down the sides of her cheeks. 

She stood there numbly as she felt the tears fall, staring at her reflection in hatred. She suddenly hated herself, and everything that she was. She hated her eyes and how large they were, she hated how small her lips were, she hated just how much of a child she looked like, she hated _herself_. It was such a powerful hatred that she clenched her teeth and pounded on the bathroom sink, letting the tears fall. 

_I don't know what the hell is going on with me anymore. I'm losing myself. I don't know who I am._ She wanted to scream and to cry out, but all she could do was silently cry, and hope that somebody would come to help her, to be by her side. _I need someone to help me. I can't do this all alone. I can't fight my inner demons all alone._

Without thinking, she got up and rummaged through the cabinet, and pulled out scissors. Looking at her reflection, she growled before grabbing a large chunk of her hair in her hands and proceeded to snip it off, watching her long locks fall to the floor, every snip being accompanied by a though that she was trying to forget. 

_Goodbye Lotor._ Snip. _Goodbye Acxa, goodbye Ezor, goodbye Zethrid, goodbye Narti._ Snip, snip, snip, snip. _Goodbye hair pulling._ Snip. _Goodbye manipulation._ Snip. _Goodbye to my old self._ Snip. 

When she finally stopped cutting her hair she looked at herself in the mirror and felt her hair, which was no longer cascading down her back in long locks, but was now at her shoulder and curling in different directions. She growled and screamed, letting out the pain and anger that she had kept bottled up. 

"Stupid Lotor! Stupid people! Stupid fake friends! I hate life so much! Why the hell is life like this?! Why can't I be normal and have a normal senior year?! Why the hell am I so stupid?! Why the hell do I make choices without thinking them through?! What the hell am I doing here?! Why the hell am I alive?!" She yelled at no one in particular, tugging on her hair frustratedly. 

"Why the hell did I fall for Lotor's trap?! Why the hell am I so fucking dense and stupid?! Why the hell cant I do anything right?!" She screamed at the top her lungs, her tears falling rapidly and her throat raw from the screaming. 

"Why the hell have I become a monster?" She whispered, looking at her hands that were full of her locks of hair that were now lying on the ground instead of cascading down her back. _'You are no better than me.'_ Lotor's words haunted her, and she leaned against the wall with tears streaming down her face as she realized that she was becoming exactly like him. 

She too, lost all her friends and was becoming a monster. "What have I done?" She whispered to herself, sliding down the wall and placing her head between her knees as she gripped her head tightly.

"What the hell have I become?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Andddd the angst keeps coming and it won’t stop cominggggg.


	26. I Am Damaged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge and Shay talk about boys and feelings, and an apology looms overhead as Pidge realizes that she needs to forgive and forget, but not before Matt finds out what's been making his sister feel like her life is crumbling right in front of her eyes.

Shay was never one to judge anyone.

She had never liked the idea of judging anyone based on their looks, but seeing Pidge on the bathroom floor with a tray on her legs made her think 'poor child.' She looked so alone, her legs crossed and her arms crossed, her brows furrowed and her lips in a slight pout. She looked so small sitting there, the bathroom empty except for her. Feeling obligated to do something, Shay smiled slightly as she stood in front of the girl.

"Can I sit?"

Pidge looked up from her tray and raised a brow, confused. "Wouldn'tyou rather be with your friends instead of me?"

Shay shook her head and sat down next to Pidge, smiling. "You seem to forget that you're my friend too." Pidge's eyes widened and she sent her a small smile, taking a bite of her sandwich. Shay glanced at her hair, which was now at her shoulder, with a curious look. "You cut you hair," she remarked, Pidge's attention shifting to her hair.

She patted it softly, the obvious lack of her long locks making her feel self conscious. "Does it look bad?"

Shay blinked in surprise, shaking her head. "No. It looks very cute. It suits you," she said, complimenting the shorter girl. Pidge sighed, a sense of relief washing over her.

"Really?"

"Yes! Why would I lie to you?"

Pidge looked down, crossing her arms. "The other kids in all my other periods have been whispering about it. A lot of them think it has to do with Lotor which isn't a complete lie, but they won't stop whispering and it's making me feel weird," she confessed. Shay frowned.

"Don't let them get to you. It was kind of surprising seeing you with a new haircut though, I must admit. After all, the last time I saw you was Saturday at the wedding and you still had your long princess hair," she said, tilting her head to the side. "What do you mean about Lotor though?" She asked, her frown growing.

Pidge sighed. "Lotor and I had a rough break up, and he doesn't know how to let go. I guess everyone just thought 'oh she got a break up haircut so they're not dating anymore' which is true, but I just didn't cut my hair because of Lotor. I cut my hair because I was tired of seeing that part of me every time I looked in the mirror."

"What part?"

"The part of me that had been corrupted by Lotor. The part of me that was dealing with all his bullshit and tolerating it even though I knew he was wrong. The part of me that felt sympathy for him because of his parents. The part of me that wasn't _me_ ," she croaked out, tears welling in her eyes. "I didn't feel like I was myself anymore."

Shay's eyes widened and she put a hand on her shoulder. "What happened?"

"Lotor is a complicated person and I thought that I could be the hero that could save him from destroying himself, knowing fully well that I couldn't. I made so many bad decisions, and cutting my hair felt like such a relief. It felt like I was saying goodbye to my old self, the part of me that had been changed because of what happened in the past three months," she said, taking a deep breath. "People whispering about me is something I'm used too, but I didn't expect them to notice the hair."

"Forget them," Shay said with conviction. "They don't know you and don't know what you went through, so their opinion isn't valid. You know why you did it, and if you like it because it makes you feel better, then you can't let anyone take away your joy. Nobody is in control of your emotions, only you are. Who cares about their opinions? What you did is understandable and I'm proud of you for letting go of the part of you that wasn't you."

"I'm damaged goods."

"No you're not. You're just a girl who's still finding out about love and how it can really mess you up if you're not careful. Sometimes, life puts us through many trials and it's up to us to figure out how to overcome them. Life just happened to throw Lotor at you, but just because he hurt you doesn't mean you're damaged. You can rise up, and I know you will. You're strong," she said comfortingly. Pidge sent her a small frown.

"You talk like you've gone through the same thing," she said, looking at her with confusion all over her features. Shay sent her a sad smile, shaking her head.

"Did you forget about my sophomore year boyfriend?"

"Daniel the Dick?"

"Yeah, him. Like you, I felt myself being changed over time because of him. The only reason he started dating me was because I was basically one of the most smartest girls at Altea. Anyways, country to popular belief, I didn't start out with ripped jeans or being the 'badass' that people claimed I was during sophomore year. I was the exact opposite. I was always the good girl that was shy but able to answer the question easily. He changed me by turning me into this person that was in a gang at one point and who only wore ripped jeans, just so I could satisfy him. I had never had a boyfriend before, but I wanted one so I didn't want to lose him."

"He was like Lotor, and I stayed around because I believed that he could be good. I believed that I could fix him. But was wrong," she said, averting her gaze from the girl next to her. "Sometimes we have to accept that some people just can't be changed, and that we have to let them go. I let him go because he tried assaulting me after I said I didn't want to date anymore, and now he's the one in hot water because my grandmother brought it to court. I learned that people may change you, but who you choose to be is up to you."

Pidge sent her a sad look. "Shay, I had no idea–"

"No one does. He changed me, but I changed into a stronger person. I know who I am now. Whatever Lotor did does not make you 'damaged goods' because at the end of the day, he won't be relevant and you will have grown to be a stronger person. You're a warrior," she said, smiling before frowning. "But if you need me to put him in his place, then I won't hesitate."

Pidge laughed softly. "Thanks, Shay, but I think I'll be good. Well, until he comes back to Altea anyways."

Shay raised a brow. "What happened with that? All I managed to find out was that there were some issues with his transfer from Galra High to here. It seems suspicious though," she commented, putting a finger up to her chin. "Why would someone's transfer that occurred months ago have issues now?"

Pidge shrugged. "Lotor's dad didn't want him to be at Altea. Said that it was 'treason' or whatever because Lotor is Galra and not Altean. He told him that if he didn't transfer back on his own terms that he would make sure that it happened. I guess he found out that Lotor was still here's thats why he did Lotor's papers to switch him back to Galra High."

Shay wrinkled her nose. "His parents sound like real jerks."

"They _are_ real jerks," PIdge scoffed. "Lotor says that he's nothing like his father, but I can see through that lie so fast. He's willing to do anything to make sure he has control over masses of people."

Shay frowned. "How'd you know about his parents? Did you meet them?"

Pidge sighed. "Unfortunately. Lotor brought me over to dinner with his parents a few weeks back, and it was so uncomfortable because all that family does is fight. They spent the entire time arguing, and his parents really hate him. Well, he hates his parents too, and I could see why."

"Wait, he brought you over for dinner? He is aware that you're not getting married, right?" Shay asked, a brow raised. Pidge rolled her eyes.

"I know right? The whole thing seemed so extra. Although, that dinner made me realize just how messed up the Sincline family actually is. They all strive for power and greatness, and they won't stop until they get what they want. Especially Lotor."

"Lotor seems too complicated to date. If he was manipulating you during your relationship, then praise the gods that you left him. You don't need him in your life. I'd suggest going after someone who would treat you right," Shay said, her lips curling upwards into a smile. Pidge raised a brow.

"What do you mean?"

Shay shrugged innocently, glancing around with a smile on her face. "Nothing. It's just that I know a certain boy who would treat you right."

"Who?"

"He's about five foot eight, black hair, has an obsession with red, purple eyes, and has fingerless gloves. He's also your neighbor and your best friend. Ringing any bells?" She asked, a smirk on her face. Pidge pouted.

"Why would he treat me right? He literally yelled at me and ruined our friendship," she mumbled. "Keith hurts peoples feelings and expects everything to go back to normal."

Shay shook her head and raised her hands in front of her. "Woah woah, slow down. Are you sure we're talking about the same Keith? The Keith I know is sweet and sarcastic, and he would never hurt you. Is this about the argument the two of you had a few months back?"

Pidge nodded. "Yup," she said. "He said some stuff that hurt and I don't like him for that reason."

"Well what did he say?" Shay asked. Pidge raised her brows, looking at Shay in confusion.

"What?"

"I want to know what he said," Shay said, crossing her arms. "Vent. You need to tell me, because I want to help."

Pidge sighed. "Fine. A few months back, Keith and I had a fight over me dating Lotor. He said that Lotor wasn't a trustworthy person, and that I shouldn't date him. I called him out because he started saying that I was abandoning him when I wasn't. He was the one who was abandoning me by going off with Shiro all the time. Anyways, our fight escalated and we said some pretty nasty shit to each other and then Keith called me a slut for kissing Lotor, and that stung. A lot. So ever since then, I haven't been talking to him unless it's completely necessary."

"You talked to him on Saturday though," Shay pointed out, raising a brow before smirking. "How did that feel?"

Pidge sighed, her lips curling up into a small smile. "Kinda good," she admitted. "It felt like I wasn't falling apart for once, like I had my life under my control. I felt so carefree, all that emotional shit, you know what I mean?"

Shay snorted. "Totally. You even danced with him! I was so proud."

Pidge laughed and covered her face with her hands. "Oh no, don't remind me. My legs are still sore two days later because of all the stupid dancing. Keith looked like he was doing the chicken dance," she said, laughing softly. Shay grinned.

"So did you."

"I did not look like I was doing the chicken dance!"

"You were copying Keith, so I think it's safe to say that you looked like you were doing the chicken dance," Shay laughed. "You two looked like you were so happy though. I know Allura and Shiro were happy to see you guys together because their smiles weren't so subtle," Shay said.

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Allura and Shiro aren't subtle at all. She was giving him the bedroom eyes by the end of the party, and I'm one hundred percent sure that that's why the wedding ended at the time it did. Otherwise it would've kept going and I would've never stopped dancing."

"You didn't want it to end, did you?" Shay asked softly. She watched Pidge sigh, the smaller girl taking a bite out of her apple.

"Maybe," she managed to say through chews. Shay wrinkled her nose.

"I love you, but don't talk with your mouth open."

Pidge finished chewing and cleared her throat, looking up at Shay with a bored expression. "I'm just like that. Anyways, I really didn't want the party to end. I'm not afraid to admit it, because I know it's true, what everyone's saying."

"What's everyone saying?"

"That Keith and I were the dancing king and queen of the party. Well, everyone at the party anyways. The two of us were the only ones on the dance floor by the end of the party with Lance and Plax. You and Hunk had gone off to get 'fresh air' which is very suspicious," Pidge said, looking at Shay with a smirk. "I hope you inhaled some nice air."

Shay tucked some of her hair behind her ear, blushing and smiling. "I guess you can say that. Can you keep a secret?"

"I have nobody to tell it to, so sure."

"Hunk and I have been dating for a few months and never told you guys. My apologies."

Pidge raised a brow as she took a sip of water, shrugging. "Not a surprise. I knew you guys were going to hook up eventually, so that's actually great news."

"It is?"

"It is," Pidge confirmed. "It's great news because that means Lance owes me twenty dollars," she said with a grin. Shay sighed.

"Did you two really bet on when Hunk and I were going to start dating?"

"Since sophomore year when Hunk started crushing on you," Pidge said, shrugging. "I said that you two were going to start during the middle of senior year and he said that Hunk would only man up when prom came around."

Shay smiled. "Prom is going to be so much fun! Have we decided on the theme yet?"

"The poll is going up tomorrow, and the results are going to be collected on Friday."

"Great! Now Keith can man up and ask you out for prom," Shay said with a smirk. "You two would definitely take the title of prom queen and king. I mean, you did just say that you two were the dancing king and queen," she teased.

Pidge pouted. "Keith is Keith, Shay. He's as oblivious as Lance was before Plax asked him out on an actual date during the wedding. He doesn't know I like him, and I highly doubt that he likes me back. Face it, I'm nothing to him other than a neighbor."

Shay crossed her arms. "In that case, you're both very oblivious. Look, Keith may be Keith but I'm pretty sure you're more than just 'a neighbor' to him. He adores you, and the wedding proved just how much he wants to be by your side again. You two are taking things too far with the whole ignoring thing, in my not so humble opinion."

"But–"

"Shush! You and Keith have a history that goes way back to when you were kids, and I think it's impossible to cut off someone who has had a profound influence on you easily, or even at all. You and Keith met for a reason, and if you two can argue about everything but still end up as best friends, then I don't think is really different."

"But it was different this time!"

"It was childish," Shay interrupted. "It may have hurt, but you know Keith wouldn't mean it if he was actually trying to talk to you a few days ago. Would a person who's not sorry be talking to you? I don't think they would. You two are close friends, and everyone just wants you two to forgive and forget. You aren't in a good place mentally right now, and you need support from your friends, which I'm sure they'd be happy to give. You can be hurt, but don't let what he did define how you feel about him. People make mistakes when they're angry and say things they don't mean, even if they know it's not completely true."

"He didn't have to get mad at me though."

"From what you're telling me, you were hanging out with Lotor's girl squad a lot. Keith probably felt left out because he is your best friend. You have to understand how he felt before you can blame him for something. You two need to figure things out, and the time to do that is now. You need them," Shay said softly. "You can't fight your feelings all alone."

"I have Matt."

"But you want Keith."

Pidge fell silent, looking at the ground with downcast eyes. "But Keith doesn't want me."

Shay shook her head. "How would you know if you don't give him a chance to prove himself to you? He misses you, and we can all see that. You miss him, he misses you, the answer is clear. You need to forgive him, and he needs to forgive you. There's a lot of forgiveness that needs to happen."

Pidge sighed, looking at Shay with a frown. "Do you really think he misses me?"

Shay nodded. "I'm positive. Were we not at the same wedding where he literally pulled you onto the dance floor? Keith doesn't dance, and you know that better than anyone. He may have said it was for Shiro, but he just wanted an excuse to laugh with you again. I know you wanted an excuse to hang out with him too," she said knowingly. Pidge rolled her eyes and a small smile took over her face.

"Maybe."

"You're crushing hard, Katie."

"It's Pidge, Shay. Katie makes me feel like we're having a formal conversation, and I don't do those unless they're mandatory," Pidge said. Shay smiled.

"Okay, Pidge. You haven't lost any of your feelings for him over the past few months, have you?"

"No. If anything they got stronger, and that scares me."

Shay hummed, putting a finger up to her chin. "Are you sure you're not in love?"

"I'm sure it's not infatuation anymore. Might as well call it love," Pidge said, shrugging. "You've got me; I'm madly in love with Keith and I hate it."

"Why?"

"Emotions are stupid. He doesn't even like me back in that way!"

Shay sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "How would you know if you haven't even asked him how he feels about you?"

"Well for one, we're not talking. Secondly, have you seen Keith? He doesn't small, nerdy girls like me. He'd rather go for girls like Allura."

Shay snorted. "How would you know what his type is if he hasn't dated anyone? Keith seems like the type of guy who would fall for someone like you, not someone like Allura. You don't know unless you actually ask. But before that, you have to forgive and mend the gap that's between the two of you."

Standing up, she offered Pidge a hand. Pidge gladly took it and stood up, holding her tray with her other hand. "My advice is that you should talk to Keith now. There's no point in waiting for him to apologize, because you know that even if he wants to do something, he won't do it. Especially when it comes around to you. Don't expect the boys to do everything first. Take a stand and tell him how you feel about the whole situation. I know for a fact that you two will bounce back from this, even if it takes some tears to get there."

Pidge sighed, throwing the remaining contents of her tray into the trash. "I know. I've been thinking about it, but I don't know when, or even if I'd be able to do it."

"You're no stranger to confrontations, and this is just another one of those. You'll figure something out. But if I were to choose a time, I'd say to choose one where everyone is at the same place so you don't have to track them all down. You're not only apologizing to Keith, but also to everyone. They owe you an apology too," Shay said, starting to walk out of the bathroom with Pidge.

Pidge nodded. "Yeah, I know." Taking a deep breath, she glanced at Shay with a small smile. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being the one who finally motivated me to forgive."

Shay blinked and smiled. "No problem."

* * *

Keith sighed, letting his head fall onto the desk. "I'm so sore."

"You've been sore since Saturday. Nobody told you to dance for two hours straight," Lance said, raising a brow before smirking. "Although something's telling me that you only danced for two hours because Pidge was there with you."

Keith shot Lance a glare. "Fuck you. I want to say something, but I don't know what to say. How do you apologize for something when you don't even know how to put it into words? I've never been good with words."

"You've never been good with any words that aren't 'fuck' or 'shit," Shiro called from his desk. Keith rolled his eyes.

"Fuck off, Shiro. You should've stayed on the ranch. Why'd you even come to robotics club? I thought you wanted to spend time with Allura _alone_ ," he said, frowning. "Your honeymoon was literally only one day!"

"I already told you, me and Allura like coming in to work."

"I don't. Let them take care of themselves. I was looking forward to a week of sleeping in," Allura mumbled grumpily, placing papers on each groups desk. "One day was not enough to recover from all the partying."

"Nice ring," Ezor commented from her desk, Acxa shaking her head next to her. Allura only raised a brow, frowning.

"Thank you." She walked away and stood next to Shiro, sighing. "I'm tired. My legs feel like lead."

"One more hour and we get to go home, alright? Then you can sleep until whatever time you want," Shiro said, intertwining their hands. Allura sighed, smiling.

"Alright. But I'm not letting you cook."

"Fair enough."

"Enough with the PDA you two!" Lance called out teasingly, causing Hunk to chuckle. "You're giving me the oogies over here!"

"You did not just steal boomerang guy's line."

"Yes I did," Lance said proudly, Keith face palming. "It's great, isn't it?"

"No."

"It's great! Oh Shiro, did you notice the two chickens are your wedding?"

Shiro raised a brow. "What chickens?"

"Keith and Pidge!"

Allura burst out laughing and Hunk snorted, not bothering to hide the smile on his face. Keith only groaned, crossing his arms. "We did not look like chickens!"

"Yes you did! Your legs were all over the place, dude. All you had to do was say 'cluck' and you would've been the dancing chicken king!" Lance cackled. "The dancing chicken king and queen!"

Allura smiled. "They may have looked like chickens, but they were trying their best, Lance. Not everyone can be a ballroom dancer, just ask Shiro."

"I stepped on your toes one time!"

"It hurt," Allura said, looking at him with a smile. "Anyways, everyone was talking about you two when the party was over. They were calling you that dancing king and queen, even though Shiro and I were the main couple of the evening," Allura said, brows raised.

Keith shook his head. "And by everyone you mean Lance, right?"

"By everyone I mean everyone on the dance floor. One of my cousins asked me if you were a couple, and was disappointed when I said no."

Keith frowned. "We did not look like a couple."

"Oh yeah, that totally explains why Pidge's dad yelled out 'the future couple!' after you two walked down the aisle together," Lance deadpanned. Keith shook his head.

"Sam is delusional and old."

"Hey, don't talk about your future father in law like that!" Matt said from his seat next to Shiro, a teasing smirk on his face.

Keith groaned. "You guys are the worst."

"No, we're just people that are tired of seeing you two pine and not do anything about it," Hunk said. "Seriously, you two are so oblivious that it's making my head hurt every time I'm near you."

"Feeling the love, buddy."

Hunk shrugged. "I'm just saying! Maybe you should–"

"Pidge! You made it!" Matt cheered, grinning as his sister rolled her eyes as she walked into the room. "I thought you had gotten lost on your way."

"Haha, very funny. I know every stairway and classroom here, Matt. I think I'd know how to get to the third floor," she said dryly as she took a seat next to Lance. "Oh, Shiro and Allura are here. I thought you guys were going to go on your honeymoon."

Allura sighed. "Blame Shiro. He wanted to come into work even though Coran said we had a break this week from teaching after school."

"Hey!"

Matt shrugged. "Allura, you married Shiro. The guy only knows how to work, get used to it. Also, Pidge we were just talking about how you and Keith looked like chickens dancing at the wedding."

Pidge furrowed her brows. "We didn't look like chickens."

"Thank you!" Keith said from his seat, throwing his hands up exasperatedly. "That's what I've been saying all along!"

Pidge shot him an unimpressed look before sitting back in her chair, crossing her arms and sassily raising her brows. "Besides, if we looked like chickens then it's because we were copying you."

Allura gasped, placing a hand on her heart. "You wound me!" She said in mock hurt, shaking her head. "I'll have you know that I was a dancing queen at Altea High during my years here!"

"Was that before or after you punched Matt for calling you a prissy rich girl?"

"Before," Allura replied without missing a beat. "He had it coming, you know. Who did he think he was?"

"Shiro's right hand man, that's what," Matt replied from his seat. "As his best friend, it's my duty to protect him from any harm. In that relationship, Shiro is the princess and Allura is the knight in shining armor."

"Shouldn't we be focusing on–"

Shiro was interrupted by Lotor, who had walked into the class with arms crossed and a calm expression. Pidge immediately tensed ho and scowled, turning away from him. Keith, Hunk and Lance glared him, following him as he walked to his group. Shay huffed and turned away, glaring at him from the corner of her eyes.

"Why all the hostile looks? I simply came to help my group, that's all."

"You didn't have to show up, you know. Me and Acxa had everything under control," Ezor said, frowning. Acxa shook her head.

"Acxa and I," she corrected. Ezor rolled her eyes.

"Whatever! The point is that you didn't have to show up when all we have is the presentation today. You can go now," Ezor said. Lotor chuckled and shook his head.

"What group leader would I be if I left my team? I don't leave my teams or isolate myself from them, unlike some others I can name," he said while shooting Pidge a quick glare. Pidge turned to look at him with a glare, everyone glancing between the two.

Shiro cleared his throat. "Speaking of presentations, we should probably start them. We'll start with Voltron. You choose who will represent."

Matt shrugged. "I'm not a part of it, but I say that Pidge should present. It'll be interesting," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Pidge looked at him with a cruel smirk, glancing at Lotor before looking at her brother.

"Very."

The others only nodded, allowing Pidge to stand up in the front of the room. Pidge cleared her throat, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Okay, so our project was Voltron, and to sum it up, it's basically a giant robot made out of five tiny lions, which are as tiny as someone's dick," she called out, glancing at Lotor before turning back to face everyone else.

Ezor only snorted, a smile creeping up onto her face. Pidge continued, looking pleased with herself upon noticing how Lotor has rolled his eyes.

"Voltron is made up of five different colored robots, which are green, red, blue, yellow, and black. The black lion is the head, while the others form the other body parts. Each lion individually has its own weapon, such as the blue lion being able to release a sonic boom or whatever."

"The purpose of Voltron is to protect the universe from evil shit, like psychotic people that are hellbent on killing people to get what they want, or aliens because lets be real, they're real. Voltron would be used for peace, and not for anything else," she said, once again shooting Lotor a glare. Lotor glared back, crossing his arms and legs.

"Voltron is just basically a robot made out of five lions piloted by five not straight pilots," she said, shrugging. "It's an original idea and not a copy of another groups idea," she said, shooting a glare at Lotor's entire group. "Also, it's very useful and is going to win, so all of you can go home. That's all, thanks and goodbye." She walked back to her table and sat down next to Matt, fist bumping him.

Shiro smiled. "That was quick but it did sum everything up. Okay, next?"

"Me," Lotor said, standing up and walking to the front. Pidge crossed her arms, looking at him with a glare. He made it to front and crossed his arms behind his back, smiling at everyone.

"My group and I decided to make this model after something that Acxa suggested. It's name is Sincline, named after my family's last name. Now, Sincline is composed of four smaller ships that attach themselves to the main ship, unlike someone who doesn't attach herself enough to those who care about her," he said, glancing at Pidge before looking back at his group. "Sincline is functional with only two parts attached to the main ship, even though it has four ships. It can move freely and can bend, making it very flexible. Sincline is a very useful, and would definitely beat Voltron in a battle," he said, looking directly at Pidge. "And by that, I mean in _any_ battle. Thank you."

Pidge glared at him and he glared at her from the corner of his eye, looking at her in disdain as he made his way back to his group. Matt looked at Pidge in concern, frowning. "You okay?"

"Perfect," she replied, crossing her arms tightly. "Just perfect." She was not, in fact, perfect. There were so many things that Lotor had meant by saying that Sincline could beat Voltron in any battle, and it made her very uneasy. She knew Lotor would stop at nothing to see her team collapse and burn to ashes, especially Allura and Coran.

She needed to tell someone before the secret took over mind, and corrupted her just like Lotor's ambition for power had corrupted him.

* * *

They walked in silence, Matt rubbing his hands together in an attempt to heat them up. They were a few blocks away from their house, the sky overhead dark. It looked like a storm was coming, and a big one. "It's freezing," he complained.

Pidge snorted. "It's forty degrees, Matt. It's not that cold."

"Not all of us a stone cold bitches like you are, Pidge," he retorted with a smirk. Not hearing a reply from her, he looked down and frowned. "Hey, you know I was joking right?"

"Yeah I know. I've just got a lot of things on my mind."

"Is one of those thoughts about the wedding?"

PIdge rolled her eyes. "I guess you could say that." 

"It's Keith, isn't it?" Matt asked, looking at her for confirmation. She sighed and nodded, crossing her arms across her chest as they crossed the street. "Whatcha thinking about him specifically?"

"I just keep replaying our entire dancing scene in my mind."

"Oh, you mean the–"

"Don't," she threatened, causing Matt to chuckle. "I don't regret dancing with him, but then again, I kind of do."

"Why would you regret it?"

"Because it just made me even more confused! Matt, this is going to sound crazy, but I still really like him and the silence between us had been killing me for so long that when he talked to me, it felt like I was almost normal, and that life wasn't shit. When Keith talked to me, I felt so happy, but like an idiot I couldn't bring myself to talk to him about the whole November thing. I missed him so much, and when we danced it felt like things were normal. If these past five months have taught me anything, it's that I can't live without the piece of shit in my life," she admitted, kicking a rock with her foot. "Keith is home, Matt."

Matt stared at her blankly before smiling. "Took you long enough to realize. Am I sensing a reunion and an official apology any time soon?"

Pidge shrugged. "Maybe. I need to apologize to everyone though, not just him. I want to do it soon, because I hate pretending like I don't miss hanging out with you guys. I want the rest of my senior year to be full of happiness, and I cant do that without everyone."

"Where is this all coming from?"

"I talked to Shay earlier during lunch. She helped me realize just how stupid and stubborn I'm being by sitting around and waiting for someone to say something when in reality, I need to apologize first before anything else can happen. Also, I've been thinking about it since Saturday night," she confessed, scratching the back of her neck. 

Matt nodded before he looked to the side. "Pidge, can I talk to you about Saturday night?"

Her smile slipped from her face and she looked down at her feet. "What's there to talk about?"

"Pidge, you cried into my shirt as soon as I came home and didn't tell me anything. You also cut your hair without mom's help and not only that, but you cut it to a length that you said you hated back in August when mom suggested it." Looking at his sister, he frowned. "Talk to me, Pidge. I'm here to help you."

She sighed. "Do you ever just hate yourself?"

"Sometimes. Why?"

"I don't feel like myself, Matt. I feel like there's something wrong with me because one minute I'm happy and the next I'm crying and yelling at myself in a bathroom about how fucked up my life is and how I ruined it. I feel lost and confused, but I mostly feel like an idiot for letting Lotor into my life not knowing who he really was. I hate myself for letting Lotor turn me into someone that I vowed I would never turn into. I hate myself for falling into his trap. I felt like cutting my hair was saying goodbye to the old me, but he's still around. He's a constant reminder of just how much I fucked up my life by being a stubborn bitch," she said, looking to the side. 

Matt frowned, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, look at me." She looked up at him with a small frown, Matt sighing. "Senior year of high school is one of the most craziest times of your life. So much shit happens in one year, and falling into traps is something that happens to everyone at one point or another. You fell for Lotor's trap and it ended up going wrong, but even if it seems like nothing good came out of it, something good did come out of it. You learned that you can't trust people blindly, which is one of the best lessons that you could learn."

"Sure, you learned the hard way, but you don't have to suffer with the aftermath all alone. We're here, but you keep thinking you're all alone when you're not. We want to help, and we can help if you tell us what's going on. We're here to help you heal, like the good friends and brother we are. Pidge, I would do anything to go back in time and make sure that none of this happened, but I can't. All I can do now is help you if you'll let me help."

PIdge smiled. "I know you would do anything for me."

Matt frowned. "I still feel like there's something you're not telling me. Pidge, what happened when you disappeared on Saturday?"

Pidge tensed up, glaring at him. "Nothing," she replied curtly. "Nothing happened. I went outside to get fresh air and lost track of time."

"You're tense."

"I am not tense."

"Pidge, I'm your brother. You can't lie to me." He tilted his head to look at her, crossing his arms. "No more secrets, Pidge. You and I both know that you weren't just 'getting fresh air,' Do you not trust me?" He asked, a hurt expression on his face.

"Of course I trust you, Matt!" She looked up at him and sighed. "Fine. You're right, I wasn't getting fresh air. I went out to meet Lotor," she confessed. Matt's eyes widened.

"You met Lotor? The Lotor that keeps begging you to be his girlfriend after the shit he did to you?"

Pidge nodded. "He threatened to crash the wedding if I didn't meet him outside, so I did. I wasn't going to ruin Allura's big day by having Lotor waltz in like some kind of home wrecker. We went on a walk together, and he told me some things and I told him some things, that's it. Nothing else."

Matt raised a brow. "You don't just 'talk' with an obsessive ex, Pidge. What really happened? I said no more secrets."

Pidge looked down at her shoes, stopping in front of the neighborhood park. A million thoughts were going through her mind, specifically what Lotor had said that night. His plans would bring around the fall of Altea and two people who she cared deeply for. If she told Matt, she would be endangering his life. Lotor had already promised hell for those who she cared about, and she could only imagine what he would do to Matt if he found out that her brother knew. 

Shay's words from earlier came into mind, and she closed her eyes. _"You can't fight your feelings all alone."_ She knew that the other girl was right. If she kept the secret any longer, she was going to destroy herself knowing that she could've gotten help to stop Lotor's plot. She sighed and looked up at Matt, clenching her fists. "Matt, you can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."

Matt looked at her suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because I could get sent to jail for getting myself involved even though I didn't know I was helping."

Matt looked at her in concern. "Jail? Pidge, what are you talking about? You're worrying me."

She took a deep breath and clenched her fists tightly, her heart beating fast as she looked at her brother in the eye. She saw how worried he looked, and she felt her heart break upon knowing how disappointed he was going to feel when he found out.

"Pidge, say something!"

 _Fuck it._ She let out her deep breath, and closing her eyes, she blurted out, "Lotor is planning to kill Allura and Coran so he can take over Altea Industries and end the Altean reign over Altea, and he promised to hurt everyone I care about if I don't help him." She looked at him hesitantly, biting her lip. 

Matt's eyes widened and his mouth went agape. A million thoughts were going through his mind, but all he could manage to do was look at her in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

_"What?!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, the cat's out of the bag. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I can't wait for you guys to read the next one. It's going to be hella emotional and I for one, can't wait.


	27. Something’s Gotta Give

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt isn’t handling Pidge’s secret very well, and is determined to tell someone against her wishes. Pidge decides to finally address the obvious rift between her and her friends, and a few tears are shed along the way as she finally breaks down in front of the one person who she’s missed the most.

Secrets. Everyone has them. Wether they're secrets about another person or about yourself, they're still there.  Secrets can range from taking your fathers last piece of cake even though you knew it was his and getting caught, forcing your sister to keep your secret so you won't get in trouble, to secrets that involve murder and the law. Secrets are hard to keep, especially if they can be life threatening secrets. For Matt, keeping his sister's secret was killing him inside. 

He had only known of Pidge's secret for a week, but he was still trying to get a grasp of just how much trouble she was in. His sister, who he had thought would never get caught up in anything too dangerous, was basically being forced to help Lotor plan an attack that would not only kill Coran and Allura, but would also kill almost every senior that had no idea just how dangerous the night was going to be. When she had told him at first, he had been angry with her.

* * *

_"Why the hell didn't you tell anyone?!"_

_"Lotor has me under his control, Matt! If I tell someone not only does he get sent to jail, but so do I!"_

_"That's why lawyers exist, Katie! We can get you out of this!"_

_"Oh really? Then tell me how my lawyer would defend my choice of dating Lotor, who is the one planning everything! The lawyer would have no idea what to do, and neither do I!"_

* * *

He sighed. He understood why she would be scared, but he also didn't understand why she wouldn't tell anyone earlier.

* * *

_"How long have you known?" He asked, pinching the bridge of his nose._

_"A month."_

_"And you didn't think to tell anyone?!"_

_"I already told you that I've been unintentionally telling them shit since November, you dumbass! I can't tell anyone because I'll be thrown in jail, and I don't want that!"_

* * *

After she had explained to him just how big the plan was, he understood why she would be scared to be thrown in jail. He still felt angry, but not with her. He felt angry that he hadn't pulled her out of that relationship as soon as he could have, he felt angry that he hadn't noticed. He felt like he had failed as an older brother. He had vowed to never let anyone or anything hurt her, but he had been to late. She had already been dealing with his shit since the time they got together and had unknowingly danced with the devil, who would not hesitate to throw her under the bus with him if she accused him. It made him sick to his stomach.

His sister was now caught up in something that she should've never been a part up. He blamed himself, but he also knew that it was Lotor's plan all along. He was a mastermind when it came to getting what he wanted, and based on what Pidge had told him, he had been planning this for a while. It was disgusting to see how far some people were willing to go just to have power and to prove that they were something.  

Keeping her secret was something that was proving to be very difficult. When he had told her that he would keep his mouth shut and keep her secrets except if it was murder, he didn't really expect her to ask him to keep a murder a secret.

* * *

_"Do you really think this is the right thing to do? Katie, Shiro and Allura just got married! They're so happy and thinking of their long future together while Lotor is planning to kill her in what, three months? This is morally wrong!"_

_"Do you think I don't know that?! Of course I know!  I tried to stop him, but he's so far gone, Matt!  I need you to keep this a secret between us. I don't want to go to jail," she whispered._

_He frowned. "You're not going to. We'll figure something out together, okay?"_

* * *

He groaned, getting up from his bed to reach for his phone, which was vibrating like crazy on his bedside table. Picking it up, he only groaned louder when he realized who the caller was. "Shiro, it's way too early to be talking on the phone. Everyone is still asleep!"

_"It's eleven in the morning, Matt. Are you one hundred percent sure that Pidge is going to apologize today? If she is, then I need to prepare Keith so that he isn't clueless when the time comes."_

"Yeah I'm pretty sure she's apologizing today. Stop worrying, it'll happen." He bit his lip, frowning. "Allura is going to be there too, right?"

_"Of course she is. She's my wife, Matt. My house at twelve right?"_

"If by your house you mean Keith's house now, then yes."

_"Whatever. See you in a while."_

"Bye." Matt hung up, running a hand through his hair. He had grown increasingly worried about Allura, and he hated it. He shouldn't have to be worrying, but he was because her life was in danger. He and Allura weren't the closest people on earth, but he cared about her. She was his friend, and he couldn't imagine life without her being around. He was torn between telling her or keeping the secret for Pidge's sake, but he knew that telling someone was the logical thing to do.

He felt like a kid who didn't have any idea what he was doing at this point. Physically he was an adult, but he felt like he had the maturity of a teenager. He didn't know how to tell anyone what he had found out, even if it was eating him alive. _How did Pidge manage to keep this secret for a month? I'm dying trying to keep it for a week._ He shook his head, getting up and out of his room. He walked toward his sister's room, only to stop in front of it as he heard her throw something on the floor.

"Bullshit!"

His eyes widened and he hesitantly knocked on the door. "Pidge? Are you okay?"

She opened the door for him, her brows furrowed. "No, I'm panicking."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know what the hell im going to say when I apologize!  I can't just go 'hey sorry I was being a dick I just have some issues,' Matt. I don't know what the fuck I'm supposed to do or say!"

"You just explain why what you did was wrong, and I'm sure everyone is going to accept in and apologize too. Don't worry, everything's going to be okay," he reassured her, patting her shoulder. Pidge sighed, looking at him with a raised brow.

"What's up with the eye bags? They're worse than mine."

"Couldn't sleep," he said, glancing inside her room. "Can I come in? I need to talk to you about... well, you know what," he said cautiously, looking around hesitantly. Pidge's eyes widened and she pulled him inside, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Why are you thinking about it?"

"It's murder, Pidge! I may joke about wanting to kill someone and that you would help me hide the body, but that doesn't mean I actually wan to be involved in one! What am I supposed to do, just forget about it? Pidge, your life and future is in danger. You're jeopardizing your bright future for what, Lotor?"

"I already told you, I didn't know what was going to happen! It was kind of my fault, but not completely. Matt, I'm terrified. I fucked up so bad, and now I'm caught up in something I should've never gotten involved in. I don't like this, but I don't like the idea of going to jail either!"

Matt sighed. "Pidge, we need to tell someone. This is Allura we're talking about, for fucks sake! The same Allura who has been through everything with us, the same Allura that just got married to have a long future with Shiro. Don't you want her to be a mom one day? Don't you think she deserves better?"

Pidge frowned. "Of course I do! I told you, I tried stopping Lotor, but every plan he has to overthrow Altea involves killing either Coran or Allura."

"This guy has some issues."

"No shit sherlock! I would like nothing more than to tell someone, but if he finds out the I said something, he's going to throw me under the bus and make sure that I rot in jail with him. Matt, I'm terrified for once and I don'y know what to do other than to keep the secret. I told you because I trust you, Matt."

"I'm sorry, but I can't keep it, Pidge. I know you trust me, but we have to tell someone. Shiro seems like the best option," Matt said, shaking his head. Pidge's eyes widened and she rapidly shook her head.

"No! If he finds out, then Lotor is just going to make sure to get rid of him before he can tell anyone anything! The guy has eyes everywhere!"

"Pidge, we can't keep this a secret. We're telling someone. You know, when I said that I would keep every secret that you told me a secret except for murder, I didn't expect for you to actually tell me you know of a plan that involves murder."

"Lotor is crazy, Matt. I tried to reason with him, but it only makes him want to take over Altea more! Don't you get it? He won't stop until he gets what he wants."

"This isn't up for discussion, Katie. We're telling Shiro after you apologize, because you can't keep this a secret anymore. Wether he decides to tell someone or take action into his own hands is up to him, but I'm not sitting around to watch the people I care about get blown into bits," Matt said, sighing.

"I'm going to jail."

"No you aren't. We're not letting that happen, I already told you. Just, concentrate on your apology for everyone. I need beer, my stress is at an all time high. How did you keep this huge ass secret for more than a week?"

"When your life depends on you keeping that secret, then it's easy to not bring it up," she replied, brows furrowed as she tapped her foot nervously on the floor. "My anxiety is at an all time high."

"Welcome to life, would you like some beer?"

"Please."

"What the hell, no! I'm not an irresponsible adult! What kind of older brother would I be giving you some beer when you aren't even legal drinking age?"

"You offered!"

"My stress is rising to unhealthy levels," he said, throwing himself onto her bed in a dramatic fashion. "Lets stop talking about the murder for a while, okay? It's not good for my stress. We have half an hour to kill, what do you want to do?"

Pidge's eyes widened. "A half hour?! I have a half hour to create my apology?!"

"Listen," Matt said, looking at her with a tired expression, "you want to apologize, right?"

"Yeah but–"

"No buts. You and Keith have been avoiding this for too long, and it's driving all of us crazy. You're going to apologize to all of us, sure, but in reality, you're going to apologize to Keith. He has to apologize to you too. I would suggest apologizing everyone first then pulling him to the side and apologizing to him in private. Then maybe throw in a kiss and maybe some–" He laughed as Pidge threw a book at him, rolling over to avoid being struck.

"Matt!"

"I'm joking! But seriously, the main argument was between you and Keith, so now the main apology is also going to be between you two."

"What if he doesn't accept it? What if he hates me? What if–"

"Stop assuming what he's going to do if you haven't even apologized yet." He paused as he glanced out the window, his eyes widening as he saw who was outside. "Oh look, it's Shiro and Allura."

"Shit," was all that Pidge could say before she stuck her head out of her window, gulping as she watched Allura walk up the front steps, laughing. She stuck her head back inside, sliding down the wall slowly. "How the fuck am I going to do this?"

"First of all, breathe. Second of all, you're going to do just fine, Pidge. Just think that at the end of the day, you'll finally be able to talk to Keith like you used to, just like you want to. Third, we'll tell Shiro the more serious issue after you apologize," Matt said, frowning. "We should probably start heading down."

"Can I just die here?"

"No. Come on, Pidge." He pulled his sister up and led her out of the room, Pidge groaning as Matt led her down the stairs. "Stop groaning, you were the one who chose today as the apology day."

"I have regrets."

"You won't have any more regrets when Keith finally hugs you," Matt mumbled under his breath as he opened the front door. Pidge frowned, tugging her sweater on as she walked down the front steps.

"I feel like I'm being led to the guillotine," she muttered as Matt rolled his eyes. "Matt, how do I start?"

"Shiro is going to make sure we're all in the living room first, and then it's your turn to talk. Basically, we're just getting together so you can apologize and get it over with before we go out as a group." He glanced up and smiled, waving. "Hey Lance!"

"Hey," the boy said, glancing at Pidge with a small smile. "Ready for the movies?"

Pidge only nodded as Matt rang the doorbell, Shiro opening it only a few seconds later. "Oh, hi."

"Such a way with words," Pidge said sarcastically. "You should consider becoming a poet."

Matt frowned. "Pidge, don't be so sour." Looking inside, he raised a brow. "Where's Keith?"

"Running errands with my mom. She said they'll be back in a while though."

Matt pulled Pidge inside, the girl glaring at him as she shook herself free from his grasp. "I can walk by myself, you know."

"Sorry."

She walked into the living room and gulped, realizing that everyone except Keith was looking at her expectantly. Hunk raised a brow, looking around with a frown. "Shiro, where's Keith?"

"Out."

"Oh."

Shiro crossed his arms, looking at Pidge with a frown. "I'm not sure if you want to wait for him before saying something, or–"

"Nope. I have my own special words for Keith," she muttered, crossing her arms as she stood in the middle of the room, frowning. Lance raised a brow.

"What's going on? I thought we were all coming here to go to the movies as a group."

"Later," Allura said dismissively, looking at Pidge with a small smile. "There's just something that Pidge wanted to say before we can go."

Pidge sighed, looking at Matt with a frown. He smiled encouragingly and sent her a thumbs up. _You wanted this. You've been waiting for the right moment to get your friends back._ She looked at them before taking a deep breath, closing her eyes. "Fuck it I'll just start. I'm not the type of person who frequently apologizes for the shit I do, but right now, I realized just how much of a dick I've been with all of you."

Hunk and Lance both sat up straight as they heard her say that, their brows furrowed in confusion. She bit her lip before continuing, looking at all of them with a frown. "When you guys told me to stay away from Lotor, I didn't really think things through. I was only thinking about myself and my own opinions of him, and I never once took into consideration what you guys felt about him. Not even Allura, who grew up with the piece of shit. I only cared about me, and not about what any of you thought."

"I screwed up a lot by ignoring your warnings, because Lotor turned out to be nothing more than a worthless piece of shit with way too many daddy issues for me to handle. I'm here to, well, officially apologize for the shit I said to you guys when we had that big argument a few months back where I said I wasn't going to hang out with you guys or whatever. I'm so sorry for what I said to all of you, but to especially to you, Shiro."

She shook her head. "The day that I blew up at all of you, I wasn't thinking straight. Hell, I was still thinking about Lotor and the stupid kiss that I didn't realize just how awkward everyone was being. When I found out that you guys knew, it felt like a major invasion of my privacy, especially when you all started yelling at me about it and sided with Keith when he started going crazy. I felt betrayed, because all I really wanted was someone to help me figure out what was going on, not to be yelled by the decision that I hadn't even made," she said, tapping her foot on the ground.

"I felt so many emotions, but I especially felt hurt. I felt hurt because the people who had been through everything with me, the people I trusted the most, the people who made me feel like I was loved, were looking at me like I had just killed someone. It felt like it was just me against all of you, who were on Keith's side. I felt so alone, and that's what really made me blow up. I felt betrayed, I felt like I couldn't trust any of you anymore."

She took a deep breath. "When you guys immediately sided with him and didn't bother to hear me out, you made me feel like you hated me. I felt like you were all so disgusted with me, just because Lotor had been the one to kiss me. I never started anything, he was the one who kissed me. None of you bothered to hear me out, and you just assumed that what Keith was saying was the truth. It stung like a bitch, and felt like a slap to the face."

"These past few months have taught me a lot. I learned that I can't trust everybody who just happens to waltz into my life, because they can end up being the best thing to ever happen to me, or end up being the biggest regret of my fucking life. When I officially accepted Lotor's request of being his girlfriend, it was an hour after I blew up. I felt alone, I felt like everything had blown up in my face. I felt like I couldn't trust anyone other than him and his group anymore."

"When I accepted, I was only thinking of how angry I was that you had all sided with Keith without knowing what had exactly happened. I only felt anger, and now I learned that basing my decisions on my emotions is never a good thing, because I make pretty shitty decisions when I'm emotional," she said, looking to the side. "Lotor is enough proof of that."

"Being with Lotor and his girl group made me realize just how much I missed a genuine friendship with people who I've known for a while, and how much I missed you guys. Sure, the girls were nice, but they weren't you. They kept telling me that you didn't care, and that I was better off with them, and I believed that for a while. It wasn't until a month ago that I realized just how fucked up everything was with Lotor, and just how much of an idiot I had been by dating him. I'm apologizing to everyone because I know I said a lot of nasty shit at the mall a month ago, and I really hope it isn't too late to mend our broken friendship."

Lance shook his head. "Our friendship was never broken, Pidge. It was all in your head, because we really cared about you, even after you left. Sure it hurt and we said some things we shouldn't have like you said a few weeks ago, but we never really stoped caring about you."

"He's right," Hunk said, smiling. "We missed you and your sarcastic comments during Coran's class, especially during the birth video."

Pidge snorted. "The kids head looked like a watermelon coming out of a hole. It was probably related to that one kid's cartoon character."

Lance grinned. "You mean Dora?"

"Watermelon Head," Pidge said, a small smile on her face. "Are we uh, cool?" She awkwardly asked, tugging on the collar of her sweater. 

Allura smiled and nodded. "We are."

Lance frowned. "I'm sorry we made you feel that way when the whole thing happened. None of us really picked sides, you know."

"You should've seen how devastated Keith looked when he realized what he had said," Hunk said, frowning. "The guy looked like a kicked puppy, especially after Matt yelled at him."

"I think Lance's mom still has a grudge against me for yelling in her house," Matt said, crossing his arms. "She always gives me the side eye when I go inside to pick Marisol up to go out, and it's creeping me out," he shuddered. Lance snickered. 

"My mom doesn't hate you, I can tell you that much. She adores you, and keeps asking Marisol when the wedding is."

Matt sighed. "I'm too young to get married."

"Ahem." 

Matt grinned as he saw Shiro raised a brow, shrugging. "Sucks to be old and married, man."

Pidge frowned. "Sorry to interrupt your flirting, ladies, but was Keith really that hurt when I left?"

Allura nodded. "You didn't know? I thought that was the whole reason why you yelled at him."

"No, I honestly thought he was going to get over it," she said. "Damn. He does care."

"Can I get an order of kidge with a side of shallura?" Matt called out, leaning back on the couch with a grin. 

Pidge glared at him. "You get an order of angry Pidge with a side order of a hospital."

"No thanks."

Pidge rolled her eyes before turning to Shiro, raising a brow. "Has Keith ever uh, you know, talked about me for the past few months? I want to know if he actually misses us talking or not."

Shiro smiled. "I can assure you that he genuinely misses you, just like the rest of us missed seeing the two of you teaming up."

Pidge looked to the side, deep in thought. "Oh." She hummed. _If Keith really missed me, then maybe I should go through with the apology for him. Then again, they could be lying since they do want me and Keith to end up together._ She was pulled out of her thoughts as the door opened, Keith walking in with a bag of chips in his hands. 

The chatter immediately died down and the room got deathly quiet as they all watched him walk into the room. He stopped in the entrance of the living room, raising a brow. "What are you guys doing?" He looked to the side, immediately spotting Pidge. His eyes widened, and he pointed at her. "What's she doing here? Are you guys doing cult stuff without me?"

Pidge sighed, shaking her head. "Idiot."

Matt shrugged. "We were waiting for you and some things happened, you missed out man."

Keith frowned. "What things?"

"Important things," Pidge interrupted, walking closer to him. He looked down at her in confusion, lips in a slight pout. "I need to tell you some shit, Keith. Some shit I should've said a while ago."

Keith felt his heart beat faster, and he hesitantly stepped back. "What shit?"

"Important shit! Let's just, go upstairs to your room. I don't feel comfortable talking with you in front of prying eyes," she said, shooting a glare at the group on the couch. Keith licked his lips, feeling them go dry. 

"Sure." He followed her up the stairs, his insides doing somersaults and his mind reeling from what was happening. _Did she find out I like her? Holy fuck if she did and wants to reject me I might as well jump out the window._

Lance leaned over towards Matt, grinning as he watched them go upstairs. "Think they're finally  going to confess?"

"Lance!" Allura hissed, swatting his hand with a small frown on her face. "I just hope they make up."

Lance sighed. "You're no fun."

* * *

"Can I have some explanation as to why we're in my room?" Keith asked as he entered his room with Pidge behind him. 

She shut the door behind her, frowning. "Oh, you're going to get one hell of an explanation. But first," she said, stepping closer to him. Keith looked at her nervously before feeling a slap to the face, causing him to glare at her. 

"What the hell was that for?!"

"You're a jackass," she started, taking a deep breath before continuing. "You're an idiot, you're an ass, you're a piece of shit that can't think before he says things that hurt. Do you know how much you hurt me when called me a slut? You never even bothered to hear me out when I tried to explain what had happened! You immediately jumped to conclusions and name calling."

"What you said hurt so much, because you're my person, Keith. You're the person I trust the most, the person who I can go to for anything, the person who's been with me through everything, the person who I can call if I have a body to hide. You're the only person other than Matt and Shiro who's been with me since I was five, and the only one who puts up with my bullshit when it's three am and this place doesn't feel like home. You're the one who I trust with my darkest secrets, the one who's been my best friend for years. You're the one who I care about the most, so you can only imagine how much it fucking hurt to hear you call me a slut when I hadn't even done anything wrong," she said, her lips trembling.

"Your words hurt so fucking much, and what hurt the most was knowing that at the moment, you meant them. You've always had an explosive personality, and I know you enough to know that even if you're angry, it's no excuse for what you're saying because what you say is just what you've been thinking all along."

"Pidge–"

"Let me talk!" She cut in sharply, glaring at him. "You hurt me really fucking bad, Keith. But you know what's worse? What's worse is that I let it hurt. I let your words hurt, because I care about your fucking opinion more than I care about my own opinion of my own damn self! Do you know how much I hate myself? Do you know how much I hate looking at myself in the mirror? All I see in a mirror is the reflection of a broken person who's been hurt by the one she cared the most about. Your words cut like a fucking knife, Keith, and you thought it was okay! You thought that it was okay to just say it!"

"I've cried so much over all the shit you told me that day, and as much as I tried to not let it get to me, it fucking got to me. Every time I looked at you after that, all I could hear was your words and all I could feel was sadness and hatred. I hated you so much, because you treated me like I was shit! Like I was just something you could hurt! What you said has consequences, and now we're here, with me yelling at you in your bedroom at twelve in the fucking afternoon because you couldn't bother to hear me out," she hissed, her eyes full of the fury that she had been waiting to unleash on him. 

"You acted like it was okay, you didn't even apologize when you realized what it was that you had actually said! You left it like that, left me alone, you didn't bother to check up on me. You were my best friend, the one I could count on, but it didn't matter because Lotor was there. You cared more about my relationship with him than me, and that's why you didn't fucking apologize! Do you have any idea how hard it was to be around them? They knew I was miserable without you, even though I wanted to hate you forever."

"I wanted to hate you, I wanted to run away from you and never look back. I was miserable and my life was spiraling downhill little by little, even if I didn't realize it. You just stood there and refused to talk to me because I was with the people who you hated, you refused to even stand in the same room as me! Goddamn it Keith, you left me alone and treated me like I was just an old toy that you got sick of and tossed away! You treated me like Lotor did!" She yelled, her eyes glassy. 

"Everything you said and did has been the only thing I can think about because it was you who said it. I've considered you the best part of my life, my hero at times, and you made me hate you so much that I dated Lotor out of spite just to see your reaction. I allowed your words to lead me to ruin my life, and now I'm a mess who can't look at herself in the mirror without wanting to die!" She yelled, getting closer to him. 

"You were my hero! You were the one who I wanted to be by my side until we got old! You were the one who I needed the most when Lotor was slowly turning me into someone I wasn't! You were the one I wanted by my side when everything was going to shit, but guess what? You weren't even get near me!" She screamed, her tears finally falling. 

"I've been suffering in silence thinking about how my life is going to shit for so long that it feels like a daily routine at this point! Where were you when I made the stupid decision of dating Lotor? Where were you when I needed your help to realize that I couldn't fix him? Where were you when I realized how much he had changed me? Where were you when I needed you?!" She yelled, sticking her face into his, the trails of tears on her cheeks very visible. 

"Where were you when I needed you?" She whispered, her voice trembling. "Where were you, Keith? I needed you to help me! I needed my best friend to help me, not to hate me! I needed you to come and tell me that it was alright, that I wasn't just one of his toys like he was making me feel. I needed your validation, I needed your fucking support after the rough break up, not dancing and excuses! I needed you so much."

"These past months have been hell without you at my side, because while I was with Lotor, all I could think about was you and how I had a better relationship with you than with my own fucking boyfriend. It's been hell thinking about how much your words hurt, it's been hell knowing that you've been avoiding me to not apologize. It's been hell without you, I fucking miss you even though you're right here. When you're not by my fucking side, it feels like I'm missing something, I don't know what, but I'm missing something!"

"I want my best friend back, I want him to be by my side, I want him to say sorry, I want him to apologize like a man, I want him to be mine again," she whispered, looking at him with tear stained cheeks, her eyes still glassy. "Is that so much to fucking ask for? I want you to apologize Keith, because the both of us know that we fucked up. No one is right; the both of us are really fucking wrong. I need to hear your apology, Keith. Answer me! I want to hear you," she croaked. 

Keith looked down at her with wide eyes, his brows raised as he felt his insides shatter. He had brought so much pain upon her, and he hadn't even realized it. He had thought that he was the only one hurting, but he hadn't even realized how it had affected her. So much for being a best friend. 

"Please don't just stand there. Say something, anything! I want to know if you're really sorry, or if I just made a fool out of myself by telling you everything when you've given me nothing but hurt for the past five months."

He sighed, looking at her with a frown. "Pidge, I never meant to say any of the things I told you. I was angry, and wasn't thinking straight. But do you know why I said it? I said it because I was afraid. I was afraid of losing you to Lotor. You seemed to be so happy with him, and you left us for him! You pushed all of us to the side, especially me. Do you know how hard it was for me to see you with him? You were always by his side, it was like he was the new me."

"I was jealous. I was being a jealous and angry bitch because I didn't want you to be with anybody else that wasn't m–us. I wanted you to be with us, and I swear I never wanted to hurt you. I never even knew of how badly he treated you," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

"What I said has no excuse and I know that, but I want you to understand how I felt. I was jealous and angry, because Lotor was someone who I didn't trust. Lotor was someone that I had met, and someone that I had lived with for two weeks during summer camp. I knew the guy, and I didn't want him to hurt you. But when you purposely kept hanging out with him despite us telling you not to go, it felt like a slap to the face. You ignored our warnings, and we all saw the consequences of that."

"Do you really think I didn't miss you? I've missed you so much," he said, looking into her eyes. "I've missed our conversations, I've missed our pranks, I've missed us just being _us._ I've missed seeing you as my partner for lab, I've missed hearing you laugh, I've missed seeing you be you. I've missed everything about you, but most importantly, I've missed you. I've wanted to apologize for so long, I've wanted to fix what I broke, but I'm a jackass and a chicken who can't apologize for shit. I'm no good with words."

"I can tell," Pidge said, wiping away a tear with the cuff of her sweater. 

"I'm so fucking sorry for everything I did, and I'm so sorry for not being there for you when you needed me. I'm sorry for staying away from you and not apologizing earlier, and I'm sorry for the pain that the son of a bitch caused you to feel. I never wanted you to be hurt, it wasn't my intention, but now that I know, I feel fucking horrible. I feel horrible knowing that the only reason you started dating the piece of shit was because of what I said. I hate myself for causing you so much pain, and if I could go back in time to change this, I would."

"I'm so, so fucking sorry. My anger and jealousy had blinded me for so long, that I didn't realize just how much my words hurt you. I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you while you were trying to heal after the breakup, but I want to fix things. I want my best friend back. I want the green to my red back, I want you back," he said, looking down at her with a small smile. "I want you back."

Pidge looked up at him and frowned. "I'm so sorry you felt like I was pushing you away. I'm so sorry, Keith. You've always been my best friend, and no one can replace you. You're like a bug that stuck onto me, and I can't get rid of you, no matter how hard I try. I never wanted to push you away, but if I did, I'm so sorry." She sighed, crossing her arms. "Now I feel like the big jerk here. Everything could've been prevented if I had stayed away from Lotor after our English project."

Keith shook his head. "Someone once told me that you're going to be put through so many trials in life, and you'll learn a lot of life lessons after those trials are over. You learned that you can't just trust anyone, and I learned that life would really suck without you and that I need to think before I let my emotions lead me to make the wrong decision," he said, scratching his neck before smiling at her. 

"We're both idiots."

"Basically."

He looked at her hesitantly, crossing his arms behind his back as he inched closer to her. "So am I going to do it or are you going to do it?"

"You're taller."

"You have a point." He opened his arms, motioning for her to come closer. "Hug me. I've missed you tackling me out of nowhere."

She rolled her eyes before slipping her arms around his waist, immediately sighing as he wrapped his own arms around her. She felt safe, she felt like she could finally breathe. A wave of relief washed over her as she realized that the painful months of ignoring the boy who held a special place in her heart was finally over, and that he was here now to stand by her. 

She never wanted to let him go again.

Keith hummed as he placed his head on her own, looking down at her. "You feel smaller than usual. Did you shrink?"

"No, you just got taller like the alien you are."

Kieth rolled his eyes. "My mother was an alien."

"Aiko is not an alien."

Keith's eyes widened as he let go of her, causing her to look at him in confusion. 

"Why'd you let go?"

"I just realized I never told you that I'm adopted."

"Oh my fucking god."

Keith frowned. "You're not going to like what I'm going to tell you next either, but it's kind of important to me, so please don't just leave after you hear what I say."

Pidge raised a brow. "Seems suspicious, but go ahead."

Keith sighed. "Acxa and I talked a few months back because of our flour baby project, and some things came up, but long story short, we might just be related," he said, crossing his arms. "Don't say anything."

"Then I'll just leave."

"Pidge," he whined, pouting. "I need your help!"

"I'm not exactly an expert on tracking down mothers, Keith. Besides, from what you're telling me you already have her to help you. I'm not saying her name because it's filthy," she said, crossing her arms. 

"Pidge, you know she's not a bad person right?"

Pidge looked at him incredulously. "A few months ago you were yelling at me because you were suspicious of who she really was and now you're saying she's not a bad person just because she could potentially be your sister?"

"Pidge, she may have been part of Lotor's group, but trust me, she doesn't agree with everything he says. She's her own person, and believe me, she doesn't have a hundred percent loyalty towards him," he said, frowning. "She also really likes you. She's been torn up about you ignoring her; they all are."

"But did they tell you why?" Pidge asked, looking at him with a frown. 

"No," Keith confessed, sighing. "But from what I know, it involved secrets that they're really sorry they didn't tell you anything earlier. Acxa really cares about you, you know. She's not going to force you to talk to her, but I'm suggesting that you might want to talk things over with all of them. It's better to confront an issue early on than to let it grow for an unhealthy amount of time," he said.

Pidge snorted. "I wonder where you learned that from."

"From the girl next door. She looks like you, you know. Short, looks like a bird, short hair and big brown eyes."

"Doesn't ring a bell," Pidge said, a smile on her face. "I learned something like that too from the boy next door, I don't know if you know him. He's an alien that never stops growing, has a mullet, purple eyes. Do you know him?"

"Can't say I do," Keith said, putting a finger up to his chin, a grin on his face. 

Pidge snorted, punching him lightly in the arm. "Jerk."

"Short stack."

They both chuckled, a small smile appearing on Keith's face as he watched her laugh. It felt nice to finally see her laugh again after months of only noticing her glare at him. It felt like things were going back to normal, and he loved it, just like he loved her. 

_I love her._ He blinked, looking at her with a blush on his face. _I would do anything for her._ Pidge stopped laughing and looked up at him confusion, her brows furrowed. 

"Are you okay? You're all red." 

He took a deep breath in, looking at her with a small smile. _Do I do it?_ "Hey Pidge? 

"Yeah?" 

"I–" He panicked and bit his tongue before clearing his throat, smiling at her. "I'm glad we're on good terms now." _Guess not._

Pidge blinked before smiling. "Me too." 

"Oh come on!" 

Both Keith and Pidge looked at the door in confusion, the raven haired boy pulling it open, only for Lance and Hunk to fall into the floor, Matt on top of them. Shiro and Allura were standing behind them, Allura smiling sheepishly while Shiro looked down at the trio with a weary expression. 

“What are you guys doing here?" 

"Well first of all I heard Pidge yelling, so I came up here to help her out," Matt said, getting off of Lance. "Then Lance came up because he wanted to make sure you didn't screw up your apology–" 

"I'm not that bad at apologizing!" 

“When you 'apologized' for eating some girls lunch by accident in middle school, you ended it with 'but it tasted good'," Lance said, raising a brow. 

"How do you eat someone's lunch by accident?" Allura asked, raising a brow in confusion. 

Pidge grinned. "It wasn't by accident, Allura. It was a dare, and the idiot just didn't know how to apologize properly." 

"In my defense, her lunch actually tasted good," Keith said, shrugging. "It was a win." 

“Even after she threw a banana peel at your face?" Pidge asked, a smirk on her face. 

Keith shrugged. "Like I said, it was worth it." 

“Thank you the whatever force above allowed me to live long enough to see this blessed day where Pidge and Keith are finally talking!" Matt said, placing his hands together as if he were praying. "You can take me now, oh almighty one. I can die happily knowing that these two finally apologized." 

Pidge rolled her eyes, Keith placing an arm on her shoulder as he raised a brow. "I have no idea what you're talking about." 

"Don't even bother," Lance said dismissively, grinning. "We heard the apology already." 

“There is no such thing as privacy in this house," Keith sighed. "I can't wait until our parents find out." 

Pidge groaned. "It's going to be another one for the photo album," she muttered, shaking her head. "It's going to be a nightmare." 

"If it's any consolation, mom deleted all the pictures of you and Lotor together from every device in the house," Matt said, shrugging. 

“That's actually a really big consolation," she said, sighing in relief. "I want him gone." 

“Don't we all," Keith said, crossing his arms. "He can rot." 

"Agreed," everyone said in unison. Pidge only sighed, looking up at Keith with a smile. 

“I'm just glad that I can finally hang out with this piece of shit again without feeling like I want to stab him.” 

“Aw," Keith teased, pulling her into his side jokingly. "You wanted to stab me, how cute." 

Hunk's bottom lip  trembled as he watched the two tease each other, smiling as he ran towards them. "Group hug!" 

Keith and Pidge only laughed as Hunk wrapped his arms around them, Lance and Matt joining him as they wrapped their arms around the two, Allura and Shiro hugging the entire group from each side. Lance pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the entire group hugging, Pidge only rolling her eyes in amusement. 

"This is going straight to the album and to my story!" The Cuban boy said happily. 

“Everyone is going to freak out when we walk in as a group again on Monday," Keith said, raising a brow. 

"Let them. I'm just really happy right now, and anyone who interrupts it or has something to say about it can fuck off." 

Matt stopped laughing and frowned, looking at his sister with knowing eyes. _You have to say something,_ his eyes were screaming. She frowned, shaking her head slightly. Keith stopped laughing as well and looked down at her in concern. "What's wrong?" 

Pidge's breath caught in her throat as she realized that she had been caught, the overall laughter dying down as everyone looked at her with a confused expression. Everyone except Matt, that is. 

“I–" 

“Pidge," Matt said in a warning tone, frowning. "We agreed on telling somebody, and we're going to do it. Tell them," he urged her, a pleading look in his eyes. "We need help." 

Allura frowned, looking at him in confusion. "Matt, what are you talking about?" 

"Pidge!" 

“Fine!" She snapped, glaring at him before sighing, running a hand through her hair as she escaped the group hug, standing in front of all of them. Lotor's words ran through her mind as she remembered his threat, and she forced herself to forget those words. _Fuck it. Matt's right. I need help._ She took a deep breath and frowned. "You guys are going to think this sounds really weird, but I need your help to stop a murder that I accidentally helped plan without knowing I was helping." 

The five –minus Matt– looked at her incredulously, their eyes wide as they tried to process what it was that she had said. 

_"What?!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY. Things are definitely going to start getting more intense with Lotor's plans after this now that the gang is back together, and I can't wait for y'all to see how it plays out. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	28. Something Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge's birthday has arrived, and Keith is hellbent on making this a birthday to remember. Madness ensues as unexpected guests appear and as Keith starts questioning wether he and Pidge are soulmates or not after overhearing a comment made by his mom, while Pidge makes a bold move that just leaves him wondering where their relationship stands.

April. April had arrived with its cherry blossoms and slowly warming up weather, the skies sunny one day and rain storms clouding them up the next. They were only three days into April, but so much had happened in the weeks leading up to it.

For one, Shiro and Allura had convinced Alfor to have extra protection in place at the school, meaning that extra guards would be placed around Altea High and during prom at the university. He had been confused at first, but when Allura told him that there were threats being made by unknown sources, he had immediately made sure more guards were placed at every school in Altea. They were called the Blade of Marmora, an organization that was run by Galra spies who were trained in combat to deal with any threats made. They were like some sort of secret police, in Keith's opinion.

Next was the Lotor issue. He wasn't a fool, and he had noticed the extra guards almost immediately after he stepped foot on campus the Friday before break. He kept sending Pidge knowing and hatred filled looks, as if he was plotting her death. Acxa, Ezor, Narti, and Zethrid were rarely around him, only staying near him when it was required for them to do so. Lotor was slowly becoming more easily agitated, even though he could cover it up easily with his fake smiles and sympathetic personality.

Keith and Pidge were back and better than ever, everyone in their classes clapping as soon as the duo entered their first period class on Monday side by side again. They had been surprised but had expected it, only shrugging it off. They didn't think that many people had noticed, but upon seeing the teachers clap too, they were slowly starting to doubt that they were right.

There was a lot of talk about college acceptance letters coming out soon, Allura hunting that Altea University would be sending them out sometime at the end of the month. Others had complained that they were taking too long, that other students in other high schools had already received their letters, but Allura had reassured the various kids who had asked her that the letters would be coming out within the month. After all, the best was saved for last.

In all the rush of taking tests, balancing a potential murder and school life, it seemed like Pidge had forgotten her birthday. The past two weeks were a mess, and she was trying her best to balance everything, but that was proving to be a difficult task. They were only two days into break and Pidge suspected that Lotor had already started making his move to make her his ally.

The thought of it was giving her a headache.

While she may not have remembered that her birthday was on Tuesday, Keith hadn't forgotten. He knew how stressed she was, and just how much was being expected of her. She had let herself start slipping when the whole Lotor thing happened, and she was hellbent on getting her grades back up before graduation. She needed a break. So that's how he found himself organizing a birthday party for her over the weekend so that it would take place during her actual birthday.

* * *

"Acxa, I need you to do something for me."

_"What is it now?"_

"It's Pidge's birthday today and I want you to apologize, because I sort of want to invite you over."

_"That's rich coming from the kid who didn't apologize until like two weeks ago for something that happened in November."_

Keith sighed. "Look, the point is that I realized what I did wrong and got it over with. Can't you do the same thing?"

_"I could, but there's no guarantee that she'll accept our apology. See, there's a big difference between yelling at your best friend and hiding a murder."_

He rolled his eyes, putting a hand on his hip as he paced around his room. "Look, I'm inviting you to her party later."

_"A horrible decision, really."_

"I know, but I want you to clear stuff up with her before I try and ask her for help with finding, well, you know who."

A pause was heard before she spoke up. _"I see your point, and I want to help because she could be my mother too, but I don't think she's ready to see all of us again."_

"You sound like a scared kid."

_"I am neither going to deny or confirm that. Look, I can try, but there's no guarantee that she'll accept. You're explaining why we're going to be there, though."_

He smiled. "That's fair. It's at six, but be here early. It'll be up to her on wether or not you can stay, but try to clear things up the best you can."

_"You're something else, Keith. You looking for your future wife's opinion on your sister already? You move fast."_

"Acxa!"

_"I'm hanging up now. See you later I guess. Don't get yourself killed, Kogane."_

"That's hard with Lotor on the loose."

_"Bye."_

She hung up on him, leaving Keith to roll his eyes as he stuffed his phone into his pocket. He knew that having Acxa come over wasn't ideal, but he didn't want Pidge to be off terms with her, especially since she could be his sister. He also knew that as much as Pidge said she hated Acxa and the rest of the girls, she didn't really mean it. She was hurt and confused, but not full of hatred. She could hate with all her body and soul, but only with the people that wronged her to a point of no return.

At least Acxa wasn't the one continuously threatening Pidge's existence.

The whole Lotor issue was escalating with the boy stalking Pidge through the halls and having some events take place that could've potentially hurt him and the others. Every time they had happened, Pidge had gone as pale as a sheet. 'It's Lotor' she had said, even if it was something minor that could've happened to anyone. Things had escalated the Friday before break when Lotor found out about the extra guards, and he had been trying to get closer to her even when she moved away. She was growing increasingly paranoid and even though she tried to not let it show, she was jumpy. She didn't feel safe.

He sighed. Everything was so complicated. Allura and Shiro had not reacted well to the news and had insisted on talking to the cops to arrest Lotor before he could do something before someone brought up the point that without evidence, Pidge's words wouldn't suffice. There was also the issue that she had been telling him prom plans without knowing, and there was no telling what would happen if he was put on trial. Things were happening way too fast and everything was just a mess.

"Keith! There you are!"

Keith looked up at the speaker, a frown on his face. "What do you want, Matt?"

"I need your opinion on the decorations. Should I hang them up on the tree or on the fence?"

"Both?"

Matt huffed. "You're no help at all, you know that? My mom literally said the same thing when I clearly asked for one answer."

Keith rolled his eyes. "What's the difference?"

Matt frowned. "You know, for someone who was responsible for organizing everything in two days you're being pretty annoying about the entire party. What's wrong? You've been acting bitchy."

Keith shook his head. "I'm fine, just tired."

"You literally slept until twelve," Matt deadpanned. "And for the last two days, might I add."

"Everything's just kind of weighing down on me, I guess. The whole Lotor thing–"

"We don't say that name in this house!" Colleen called out from her place in at the grill, Matt shaking his head.

"Sorry. My mom is still very angry about what Lotor did to Pidge. Well, what she told her that he did," Matt said, scratching his head. "I honestly don't know at this point."

Keith shrugged. "It's fine. Like I was saying, Sir dicks-a-lot being around as if he isn't planning a murder has me really worried about Pidge and everyone else. She did say he promised to hurt everyone she cared about if she didn't help, right?"

Matt nodded. "From what she told us, yeah. But I don't want her to get involved with him anymore. All he does is hurt her, and I don't want her to be around the toxic ass anymore."

"Believe me, I don't want to get her any more involved than she already is now. It's taking a huge toll on her mental health."

Matt sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know. Allura's been talking about getting a restraining order or something, but there's no actual physical proof that he did anything to her to get the order in place. Honestly, everything is just really fucked up at this point."

Keith crossed his arms. "I don't care what it takes, but I want Lotor gone. Like, really far away. As in on the other side of the Milky Way. Pidge doesn't need this shit, she's stressed enough about school."

"Yeah I agree. Shiro was saying something about getting the Blade of Marmora to help us uncover clues about how Lotor is planning the entire thing because he's sure that Lotor didn't tell Pidge everything."

Keith raised a brow. "The Blade of Marmora is a secret spy organization or something like that, right?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah."

"But they're all old people!"

Matt snorted. "Not all of them. And not all of them are men, either. There's some women on the team, and according to Shiro, they're badasses." He paused, looking at Keith with a smile. "You know, if you ever got a job, you'd probably be one of them. They all act like you."

Keith snorted. "I don't need to be a spy to get what I want. I have everything I need right here."

"Yeah, everything except a girlfriend named Pidge," Lance interrupted, slinging a shoulder around Matt's neck. "Right Matt?"

Matt grinned. "You know it. If Keith was depressed without Pidge for five months just imagine how depressed he'd be if Pidge married someone who isn't him."

Keith shook his head. "You two are a pain in the ass."

"Your non-existent ass?" Lance asked, batting his eyelashes innocently.

Keith rolled his eyes. "Whatever. What time is it?"

"Five," Matt said, holding up the decorations in his hands. "Okay Lance, tell me your honest opinion. Should the decorations be hung up on the tree or on the fence?"

"If they're on the tree, they make the treehouse look like an actual miniature house. It'd look great, and besides, the fence already has some other colored decorations," Lance responded.

Matt grinned. "Thank you for actually helping unlike someone I can mention," he said, shooting Keith a quick glance. Keith rolled his eyes.

"Seriously? I don't do decorations, dude."

"That's why _I'm_ planning your wedding," Lance said snootily, putting a hand to his hip. "If you planned your own wedding, a color scheme wouldn't even exist! It'd be a mixture of red and some other hundred colors."

"I'll have you know I passed art class in junior year with a higher grade than you. I think I can plan a color scheme better than you," Keith said smugly, smirking. "Besides, I'm not going to let you plan my wedding."

"Yeah because I'll be planning it," Shiro said, popping up from behind Keith. "You're going to need expert help."

"Shiro I do _not_ need your help to plan my wedding."

"When you and Pidge get married I can't wait to see what your vows are going to look like," Lance said, grinning as he saw Keith get red. "It's going to be the most beautiful and weirdest thing ever."

"You all disgust me."

Shiro grinned. "No, you love us."

"I know and it's horrible."

They all laughed, Hunk walking towards them with a plate of cookies. "Hey guys. Want some?"

"Hunk, you're a gift sent from above," Lance said, grabbing five cookies from the platter. "This just confirmed it," he managed out through bites as he walked with Matt to the tree. Hunk cringed.

"I love you, but don't do that."

Keith shook his head. "Uneducated." He turned to Hunk, a smile on his face. "So how's the food coming along? Please tell me someone didn't burn something."

"No no, everything's coming along just great. We just need to set everything up on the table before Pidge gets here. Relax, dude. I'm sure Pidge will accept your marriage proposal," Hunk teased, winking at Keith.

Keith sighed, crossing his arms. "You guys really love to annoy me, don't you? Especially with that."

"I mean, you kind of did bring this upon yourself."

"How?!"

"By chickening our and telling her you were glad she was back instead of telling her you loved her!" Lance called out from his spot at the base of the ladder, holding it still so that Matt wouldn't fall off as he hung up the decorations.

Keith facepalmed. "One time!"

"You had a chance, man. Believe me, that's how every cliche movie starts like."

"But does every cliche movie have one person being rejected by the person they like?"

"Oh not this again," Shiro said, crossing his arms. "We already went over this!"

"But Shiro, hear me out–"

"No. You just tell her how you feel, even if you think you have no chance. That's how life is, Keith."

"Yeah! You shoot your shot, and if you miss, well, there's something seriously wrong with the hoop," Matt called out from his place on a tree branch. "Lance, stop shaking the ladder!"

"Okay, but even if I did do it, when would I do it?"

"Promposal!" Lance said, running towards the group with a grin on his face, leaving the ladder to fall to the ground.

Matt's eyes widened, desperately clutching onto the tree branch with an iron grip. "Lance!"

"What the hell? No, I am not asking her out fo prom. If you don't remember, we have an issue with prom," Keith said, looking at Lance with a raised brow.

Lance waved him off. "Let's just forget about that for one day, okay? Let's just focus on a prom scenario where nobody is going to get blown up. Let's imagine you asking Pidge out to prom, where you two are definitely going to take the crown for prom queen and king–"

"I'm stopping you right there because that's an unrealistic scenario, and because it's not going to happen even if it was a realistic scenario."

Lance sighed. "You are a pain in the ass, you know that?"

"Pidge never lets me forget it."

"Aw, thats cute," Hunk teased.

"Yeah no. Lets just focus on the party. Shiro, what time is Allura coming back with Pidge?"

"She said they were starting to head back a few minutes ago. That gives us about uh, a half hour to get everything set up?" Shiro said, scratching the back of his neck. "Oh boy."

Keith's eyes widened. "Are you fucking joking?"

Shiro frowned. "Keith, we have everything set up already. What's the problem?"

"I–. Nothing," Keith sighed, walking inside the Holt residence. "I'm going to the bathroom," he mumbled, closing the door behind him, stuffing his hands into his pocket as he walked slowly to the upstairs bathroom.

Once inside the bathroom, he sighed and pulled out Pidge's gift from his pocket. It was a simple necklace, and he wasn't sure wether or not she was going to like it or even wear it. She wasn't girly to an extreme and the only occasion she wore necklaces was during parties. It had a small green heart as the decorative jewel, the rest silver. It was simple, and it had caught his eye as soon as he saw it.

Pidge didn't like anything too fancy. She preferred simple things, which was why he had brought the necklace as a gift. He wanted to give her something nice before parting to college, because he wasn't sure that he got into Altea University. He knew she had definitely gotten accepted, but he couldn't say the same for himself. If they went to separate colleges, they would rarely see each other. It was almost like his last birthday gift, even though he wouldn't outright say it.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt his phone vibrate, picking it up to read the caller ID. Acxa. He accepted the call and put his phone up to his ear, raising a brow. "Hello?"

_"We're outside. What do we do now?"_

Keith's eyes widened and he ran out of the bathroom and down the stairs, checking to make sure that no one else was inside. "Nobody's inside. Hurry up before Pidge comes home, and you'll wait in her room. I'll bring her up."

_"Your plan better work, Kogane."_

"Trust me, it will." He hung up and opened the door, quickly spotting the four girls getting out of the car. He motioned for them to go inside quickly, all of them heading upstairs as he attempted to lock the front door, only to freeze in his tracks as he heard a familiar voice.

"Anyways, I think she wanted to confess and ask him to be her official boyfriend but since it's Florona, I don't know at this point– hey, why is the door open?"

Allura's eyes widened. "Do you think someone broke in?"

"I'm not–"

"Pidge, you're back!" Keith said, flinging the door open. "I'm so happy to see you!"

Pidge raised a brow. "Me too? What's with the yelling?"

"It's my uh, excitement! Yeah, my excitement," Keith said, furrowing his brows and looking to the side before pulling her inside, flashing Allura a knowing look. "Mind if I borrow Pidge for a second?"

"What am I supposed to do out here?" Allura asked, playing along. "Am I supposed to just sit out here and wait for you to be done talking with her? Let me in, Keith."

"But uh, Shiro is waiting for you next door! He wants to take you out for dinner," Keith said, sending her a clearly fake smile. "It'll only be a while, I promise."

Allura sighed, shaking her head. "Alright, I'll leave you two." She sent him a wink before allowing Keith to close the door, Keith sighing in relief as he closed it.

"Phew."

"What the fuck was that?" Pidge asked, looking at him in confusion.

"What was what?"

"That!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. But hey, can I talk to your for a second?" Keith asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. "In private?"

"There's no one home, Keith, just ask me here. Also, how the fuck did you get in?" Pidge asked, brows furrowed. "You're confusing me and I don't like it."

Keith sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? Your parents just went out with mine and left BaeBae in the backyard, so I let him in." As if on cue, the Holt family pet waltzed into the living room and wagged his tail as he looked up at Pidge, his tongue sticking out of his mouth playfully.

Pidge snorted, leaning down to scratch his ears. "You could've just said that instead of seeming like a robber, you know."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Keith said, scratching the back of his neck as he glanced upstairs. "But I really need to ask you about something, so can we go to your room?"

Pidge snorted. "You sound like every fuck boy trying to go into a girl's room to fuck her. What do you want from my room?"

"I tried looking for the paper that had the instructions for our English project, but I couldn't find it. Your bag's a mess, by the way," Keith said as he and Pidge walked upstairs.

"Hey, you try stuffing your laptop, folders and huge ass binder in there."

"That's why we have school computers," Keith said, looking at her in amusement.

Pidge scoffed as she turned the knob to the door of her room, opening the door slightly. Keith felt his heart start beating faster as he spotted Acxa standing in the middle of the room.

"First of all, those suck. Second of all–" She paused as she looked inside her room, her eyes wide and her brows furrowed, her lips in a thin line. She immediately turned around to face Keith with a scowl, clenching the knob tightly. "What are they doing here?"

"You need to talk," was all that Keith said before he closed his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

He pushed her inside the room, causing her to gasp in surprise as she fell to the floor, the door locking behind her. Keith held onto the knob tightly, Pidge banging on the door repeatedly.

"Keith Akira Kogane open this fucking door right now before I call the police on you!"

"You're going to sound insane!"

"I am insane!"

"Just talk! I'm not letting you out until you talk to Acxa, so give up the banging!"

Pidge grunted in frustration, stepping back from the door. "Fine! I'll just find another way out of here."

Keith leaned against the door, crossing his arms as he waited to hear them talk. Two minutes had passed before he heard screams and yells, causing him to jump as he put an ear up to the door.

"You can't jump out the window, Katie!"

"It's Katherine to you! And I can do what I want!"

"You're going to die!" Came Ezor's voice, her eyes wide. "You can't die yet!"

Keith groaned, banging his head on the door, determining wether or not he should go and calm her down before he heard Acxa's voice. "Pidge, you're not jumping out the window. Get down."

Pidge scowled, staring at Acxa with a deadly expression. "Why should I listen to you? You've never cared about me, so why would you care now that I'm trying to jump out the window? Oh, that's right. You only care because I'm the only reason Lotor hasn't gone crazy and killed you," she hissed.

Acxa glared at her. "You're going to let us speak or so help me I will personally hold you down and tie you up so that you can't escape. You need to listen to us, and not just let what you know affect your thoughts of us."

Pidge glared back at her, the two staring into each other's eyes. "You can't make me."

"Watch me," Acxa retorted, crossing her arms. "The longer you make us wait, the longer we're staying here. So if you want us to leave quick, I suggest you take a seat and let us explain what the hell is going on. Time isn't our concern."

Pidge looked at her with one final glare before sitting down on the window seat, looking between all four girls with an iron glare. "Well? Talk, assholes."

Ezor crossed her arms, looking down at Pidge with a frown. "First of all, you're the real asshole for comparing us to Lotor."

"Filthy."

"Yeah that. For the record, we are nothing like Lotor. He's been the head of all of this, and we've been his minions since the beginning. It's not fair for you to throw us under the bus with him just because you don't know the entire story, just like you did with your friends," Ezor said, glaring at her. "You don't think it was difficult for us when we found out what his big plan was? Of course it was! But why did we stay? Because Lotor is a dangerous, manipulative person who won't stop until he gets what he wants, and he's not going to stop bugging you until you agree to help him."

"I don't believe you when you say you found it difficult to deal with Lotor's plan to kill innocent people," Pidge said with a frown. "You knew what you were doing, but you didn't even say anything to prevent it! You were on board with it! But you know what else is bothering me? You violated my fucking trust!"

"I felt accepted and welcome, I felt like I had found some other girls who would want to actually want to be around me and not treat me like the cheat sheet who they could copy all of their answers off of! I felt like I was finally getting to know more people who I could genuinely call friends! But what did you do? You fucking violated that trust! You knew what you were doing when you asked me out on all those mall trips, and I should've seen it coming because there was no way anyone who had a connection to Lotor would approach me voluntarily!"

Zethrid frowned. "That was true in the beginning, but hanging out with you really changed how we felt about you!"

"Oh, so you did only approach me because Lotor told you to?" Pidge looked at her with a hurt expression, clenching her fists. "I told you that you were all traitors to me, and I'm not changing my fucking mind!"

"Will you shut up and listen?!" Acxa said, her tone firm as she glared at Pidge. "Let me speak."

"Nobody's stopping you," Pidge hissed.

Acxa crossed her arms. "When Zethrid says that we did feel like that in beginning, it's because we did. But that doesn't mean that we didn't change over time–"

"Yeah right."

"Let me speak!" Acxa yelled, taking a deep breath before continuing. "As I was saying, being around you made us realize just how much we had grown attached to you. While our motives in the beginning had been to help Lotor, we don't want to help him anymore. We're tired of staying quiet, and as loyal as I am to Lotor, nobody else deserves to get hurt because of his crazy plans," she finished, looking directly into Pidge's eyes. "We need your help to stop him, but first we need you to understand that we couldn't tell you anything because Lotor has all of us wrapped around his finger. He has connections, and he could do anything to anyone who slips. He's been planning something for you, and we don't know what, but we came to ask for your help."

Pidge scowled. "Sounds like lies to get me back with Lotor."

"It's not," Ezor said, Narti nodding in agreement. "Trust me, please."

"Trust you?! Are you fucking serious?!" Pidge screeched, glaring at Ezor. "The whole reason we're here is because I trusted you and you abused that trust! I trusted you with my feelings, with how I felt about everything, with the issues I was having, because I thought you would understand! I thought that I could trust you!"

"A friendship, or any relationship, has to be built upon fucking trust, not fucking lies that shoot out of your mouths like bullets. I trusted you with secrets that I hadn't told anyone, especially the prom ones, but what did you do? You ran to Lotor and told him everything, and now I'm here, scared for my life!"

Acxa frowned. "When you trusted us, we trusted you as well. We told you everything about us, and we don't do that with just anyone."

"We're just asking you for a second chance," Ezor said, a small frown on her face. "If we weren't sorry for keeping everything from you, then we wouldn't even be standing here or trying to make an effort to talk to you. You know how we are!"

Pidge stood up, looking at them in pure hatred. "But do I really know who you are?"

Zethrid tried to speak up before Pidge stomped her foot on the floor, her clenched fists trembling. "I didn't ask for you to come here to explain your motives for not telling me what the hell was going on, and I didn't ask you to waltz back into my life. You know when I might have believed you? The day everything happened. But you never said anything, never called, never texted, and you expect me to believe you when an entire month has passed? You're all so fucking pathetic," she snarled. "Get out of my house, and get out of my life. I don't want to see you anywhere near me."

Acxa pursed her lips. "You're going to regret not letting us help."

"I already regret meeting you, so there's not much else I can regret," Pidge said with a glare, walking up to Acxa and staring her dead in the eye. "And for the fucking record, I know you've been trying to get closer to Keith, you mythic bitch. You do anything, and I mean anything, to hurt him, and you're going to pay hell for hurting him," she said in a deadly tone, refusing to look away. "Understood?"

"And here we were thinking you didn't condone murder," Acxa sneered. "I'm not going to hurt Keith. He stays out of this. Besides, why would I hurt my brother?" She asked, looking down at Pidge with a cold expression. "You've already hurt him enough with what you did. Don't be a hypocrite, Katie. Nobody likes hypocrites."

"Get. Out." Pidge pointed towards her door, glaring at all of them. "I don't want to see any of you again, get out!"

Ezor looked at her sadly before sighing and opening the door, walking out with the other three girls behind her. Acxa shot her one final glare before walking out, turning to look at Keith with a frown. "I told you."

"Just go," he said, refusing to meet her eyes. "I'll take care of Pidge," he said while looking at the girl, who was glaring at the wall.

"We're talking later, just you and me," Acxa said in a low voice as she walked down the stairs and out the front door. Keith sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, looking at Pidge with worry.

He entered her room, walking over towards her and gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Pidge?"

"Why would you let them in?" She asked quietly, not looking at him. "I told you I didn't want to see them again."

"I needed you to talk to Acxa so things wouldn't be so tense between the two of you." He sighed, sitting down next to her. "The truth is, I only wanted you to forgive her so that you wouldn't react badly to the news that, well, she could be my sister," he said, looking to the side. "I'm sorry. I was being selfish and not thinking of you."

"You know, you could've just told me that," she said, looking at him with a small frown. "I would've understood, and I would've tried to tolerate her for your sake. I wouldn't have accepted her shitty apology, but I would've tried to act civilized or something like that. But dragging all of them up here? Keith, they've caused me pain because they're a constant reminder that I willingly allowed myself to be dragged around by them, only to be used for my inside knowledge," she said, gaze falling to her shoes as she crossed her arms across her chest, hugging herself. "I refuse to be used again."

Keith frowned, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I know, and I'm sorry for not thinking of how you felt. I really thought you would forgive them, you know, like you did for me."

"Keith, there's a huge difference between keeping a murder from someone because they're too valuable to loose and saying shitty words to your best friend because you're pissed," Pidge said, looking up at him with a small smile. "I forgave you because I've known you for years, and I realized just how much of an idiot I was being by ignoring you."

Keith sent her a small smile. "You learned from your experience, and that's the important thing. But I understand if you're not ready to talk to Acxa or any of them yet, and I'll respect that from now on instead of pushing you to do something you're not comfortable with," he said, looking to the side. "I'm a little too pushy."

Pidge snorted. "A little? Please, I've known since we were five. You're the definition of pushy," she said, allowing a ghost of a smile to show up in her face before she sighed. "The visit threw off my vibe, though. I was going to ask you and everyone else if we could go out bowling or something tonight to celebrate my birthday."

Keith hesitantly reached into his pocket, tracing the design of the heart with the tips of his fingers delicately. "About that. I uh, have something for you."

Pidge raised a brow, turning herself around so that she could see him properly. "What is it? A knife?"

Keith rolled his eyes, taking the necklace out of his pocket and holding onto it tightly. "No, it's not a knife." He opened his palm to reveal the necklace, watching her eyes widen. "It's this."

Before she could speak, he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, starting to talk. "I know you're not really a big fan of jewelry or fancy stuff, but I thought this looked simple enough and I know that you love green so I got this color, but you don't have to wear it if you don't want to–" He was cut off by Pidge slapping a hand over his mouth.

She smiled and shook her head. "You're such a fucking idiot, Keith. This is really pretty and I love it. Thank you," she said. "Now put it on," she said, pulling her hair to the side to allow Keith to put it on. "Matt is going to have a heart attack seeing me wearing this."

Keith snorted, placing the necklace around her neck. "Good to know my present is being used to cause heart attacks."

"What else would it be for?" Pidge laughed, getting up and looking at herself in the mirror. "But seriously, I love it. Thanks, jerk."

Keith rolled his eyes, looking at the time on his phone. 5:57. His eyes widened and he quickly walked to the door, grinning uncertainly. "Hey uh, now that that's out of the way, why don't we head to the treehouse?"

"The treehouse? We haven't been in that for months!" Pidge said in disbelief, looking at Keith with a weary expression. "Did your knife get stuck in the tree _again_?"

"Uh, yes?"

Pidge shook her head, walking out of her room and down the stairs. "What a great birthday experience. As soon as that knife is free, I'm dragging you to the bowling alley."

"Dully noted," Keith said as he walked downstairs with her, licking his lips as they headed towards the back door. He quickly pulled out his phone, shooting Lance a message that they were on their way down. He glanced at Pidge before standing in front of the back door exit, crossing his arms. "Oh and uh, please don't kill me. I think it lodged itself deeper than last time."

"Did you actually go through the whole trunk this time?!" Pidge asked in disbelief, a huge grin on her face. "Dude, you've gotta let me see that! I can't believe you finally did it!" She pushed Keith to the side before throwing the door open, her eyes widening in surprise as she spotted all the decorations. "Wha–"

"Happy Birthday!" Everyone shouted, Lance throwing confetti on Pidge as she looked at everyone in surprise.

"What's this?"

"My wallet's funeral," Matt said, grinning as his sister swatted his arm. "I'm joking! It's obviously your birthday party."

"But how? You never do surprise birthday parties!"

"You can ask Keith over there," Matt said, pointing towards Keith, who was talking with Marisol and Lance. "He was the one who organized everything, and when I say everything, I mean _everything_ ," Matt grinned. "He wouldn't stop bugging us about helping him plan a surprise birthday party, and when Aiko and mom found out, well, you know how they are. They made me go buy a lot of decorations on Sunday."

Pidge raised a brow. "But you never left the house on Sunday, Matt. I remember hearing you scream in the shower."

Matt pouted. "I don't scream in the shower, I sing! And I think you heard dad, because I know that I was out of the house for most of the evening," he said, raising a brow before his face melted into a horrified look. "What if we have a ghost?!"

Pidge snorted. "A horrible screaming ghost? No thanks, we already have you," she teased, grinning as Matt pouted again. She watched Colleen and Aiko walk towards her, a smile on her face as the two women embraced her.

"Congratulations Pidge," Aiko said, pulling back to flash the girl a smile. "You're finally eighteen! How does it feel?"

Pidge shrugged, toying with her necklace. "I feel the same? I know I'm supposed to feel more older or whatever, but I feel like I'm still seventeen."

Colleen looked down at Pidge's hand curiously, raising a brow. "What's that?"

Pidge looked at her mom in confusion. "What?"

"What's that around your neck?"

Pidge's eyes widened before she smiled, showing them the necklace. "It's a necklace," she said, watching Aiko and Colleen's eyes widen in shock and awe. "A birthday present."

Aiko immediately trained her eyes on her son, who was playing with Mateo and talking to Lance, raising a suspicious brow. "It was Keith, wasn't it?"

"Did he ask you out to prom?" Colleen asked, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Because if he did, then I God really does exist."

"Mom!" Pidge hissed, a light blush dusting her cheeks. "Yes it was from Keith, and no, he didn't ask me out to prom. I don't even want to go to prom anyways," she quickly added, seeing how Colleen and Aiko sighed disappointedly.

"But it's prom, Katie," Colleen said, crossing her arms. "If he doesn't ask you out, then you need to take matters into your own hands."

"Mom," Pidge groaned. "Keith doesn't like me like that! We're just two really good friends who also happen to have pesky mothers who want them to get married," she said dryly as she looked at both Aiko and Colleen. "Besides, I'd rather go to prom in a group than with one person. Not everything has to be romantic, you know."

"You know, you're right when you say that prom doesn't have to be romantic," Aiko said, crossing her arms before smiling. "But that doesn't apply here, because you and Keith are practically soulmates!"

Keith whipped his head around, spotting a facepalming Pidge, a grinning Aiko, and a smiling Colleen. He shook his head, trying to ignore the words that his mom had said. _You and Keith are practically soulmates._ He frowned, feeling a tug on his sweater. He looked down at Mateo, sighing and sending him a small smile. "What's up, Mateo?"

"What's a soulmate?"

Lance spit out his drink, Keith blinked, raising brow before nervously chuckling. "What?"

"I heard your mom say that you and Pidge are 'soulmates,'" Mateo said, wrinkling his nose. "What's a soulmate?"

Keith looked at Lance, sheepishly smiling. "Do you want to tell him, or–"

"No no, he asked you," Lance said, grinning. "What, are you really scared of telling him what a soulmate is? Trust me, he knows worse words than 'soulmate.'"

Keith sighed, crouching down to face Mateo. "So you want to know what a soulmate is, huh?"

Mateo nodded. "What's a soulmate?"

Keith pursed his lips, looking to the side deep in thought. "It's uh... Well, it's like a best friend, but more. It's the one person in the world that knows you better than anyone else. It's someone who makes you a better person. Actually, they don't make you a better person, you do that yourself because they inspire you. A soulmate is someone who you carry with you forever. It's the one person who knew you and accepted you and believed in you before anyone else did or when no one else would. And no matter what happens, you'll always love them," he said, looking at Pidge with a small smile. "Nothing can ever change that. Make sense?" He asked, turning back to face Mateo with a smile.

Mateo tilted his head to the side, a brow raised. "That's what soulmate is?"

Lance nodded, shrugging. "Yeah, that's pretty much what a soulmate is."

"So Pidge and Keith are soulmates?" Mateo asked, looking up at Keith innocently. Lance burst out laughing as he saw Keith blush. "Are you?"

"N-no," Keith stammered, furrowing his brows as he felt his face heat up. "No we aren't. We're just really good friends."

"Enemies to lovers with a twenty thousand slow burn story, not 'really good' friends," Lance said, smirking as he saw Keith facepalm. "Mateo, do you think Pidge and Keith look good together?"

"They're soulmates!" Mateo said happily, clasping his hands together.

Keith groaned. "Lance, Mateo, please stop."

"Soulmates! Soulmates!" Mateo cheered as he skipped around Keith, throwing his hands up in the air as he laughed. "You like her, you love her, you wanna be her soulmate!"

Keith groaned louder, slamming his head into the tree that held up the tree house. "I can't even trust children anymore."

"Well to be fair, you two are soulmates," Lance said, leaning against the tree. "It's like everyone but you two see it. I mean, even Coran sees it!"

Keith shook his head, turning to look at Lance with a small frown. "I wish we were soulmates, but I just can't see it happening."

"Oh I can definitely see it happening. Come on, you've spent your entire life together and forgive each other easily even when you've ignored each other for five months. That's some serious soulmate shit, man. It's like you said, Keith. 'No matter what happens, you'll always love them,'" Lance said, grinning. "How could you possibly know wether or not she's your soulmate when you're being a chicken?"

"I agree," Plaxum said, appearing from behind Lance, causing Lance to shriek. "By the way, nice party. Pidge told me that you planned it, Keith." She smiled sweetly. "That was really sweet of you."

Lance looked between Keith and Plaxum, placing a protective arm around her shoulder. "Uh-uh, no way are you stealing my girlfriend!"

"I'm not trying to!" Keith argued, pouting as he spotted Pidge motioning for him to walk towards her. "You know what? I'm not in the mood to argue. Bye," he said, making his way towards a grinning Pidge, who was sitting at a table with a plate of food in front of her.

Lance snorted. "He's really whipped."

"Well, why wouldn't he be?" Plaxum said, giggling slightly as she wrapped an arm around his torso. "Let's just hope that he does something other than stabbing poor trees."

"Agreed."

Everyone started making their way to the tables, the smaller children sitting together, the adults and teenagers sitting together and laughing. Shiro took a seat next to Keith, Allura sitting next to him, Lance and Hunk sitting across from them with Shay and Plaxum.

"Lance, your mom's cooking is amazing," Pidge said, stuffing her fork into her mouth. "I love her."

"Nice to know you love her for her cooking," Lance joked, digging into his own plate. "But thanks."

"You look like a baby who's learning to eat solid food," Keith commented, watching ketchup run down the side of her mouth. "You have ketchup all over the place."

"Does it really look like I give a shit?"

"You don't but I do," Keith said, passing her a napkin. "Here, clean yourself."

"Clean yourself," Pidge mimicked as she glared playfully at him. "You're not my mom."

"Fine," Keith huffed, grabbing the napkin and rubbing it all over her face. "I'll do it."

"Keith what the fuck?!" Pidge screeched as she tried to stop him, swatting her hands in his face as she leaned backwards trying to avoid him. "I'm not a baby!"

"But she's his baby," Lance muttered under his breath, causing Allura to bite her bottom lip as she attempted to hide her smile. Hunk snorted and Shiro only sighed, watching the adults look at them with confused expressions.

"Fight fight fight!" Matt cheered as he stood up, Marisol facepalming as she heard him.

"Marisol, it's okay if you want to break up with him after this," Allura said, smiling.

Marisol only shook her head as continued to watch Matt cheer on the two fighting teenagers. "I feel like I'm surrounded by children."

"This would be easier if you stayed still!" Keith said, rubbing her face aggressively.

"Hey get off!"

"No!"

They screamed in surprise as she she leaned back too far in her chair, causing them to fall down together. Everyone gasped, including Keith and Pidge, who were stuck in a very embarrassing position, with Keith on top of Pidge. Pidge looked up at Keith with wide eyes and a light blush, Keith mirroring her expression.

"Oh my fucking god get off!"

"I'm sorry!"

The two immediately stood up, brushing themselves off as they tried to process what had happened. Colleen and Sam exchanged a look, Aiko looking at Keith with confused expression.

"Soulmates!" Mateo yelled as he stood up on his chair, causing everyone to erupt into a fit of laughter while Keith and Pidge only looked to the side and blushed, their hearts pounding as they realized what had just happened.

Something similar had happened at Keith's eight birthday party when they had accidentally fell on each other, resulting in an argument. It was almost hilarious how things had changed ten years later from them arguing to suddenly being embarrassed of falling on each other.

"I guess you can say he, really fell for her," Lance snickered, causing their entire table, including Shiro, to laugh harder than they already were. Pidge and Keith only sat down in their chairs again, Keith propping her chair up.

"I'm sorry."

Pidge waved him off, ignoring the heat in her cheeks. "It's fine," she managed to say before crossing her arms and glaring at him. "But I swear, if you ever try to do that again I am going to stab you withy fork."

"In my good home?" Keith said, placing a hand to his chest as he grinned. "I didn't know you were into stabbing people."

Pidhe snorted. "It's something I learned from you."

"I have accomplished my mission then. I can finally die."

"Yeah but you shouldn't die," Pidge said, pouting. "If you did, who would I bother?"

"You're stealing my line," Lance muttered, crossing his arms. Plaxum raised a brow.

"What?"

"Foreshadowing, Plax."

"I mean you could bother Matt," Keith suggested, shrugging. "He's not me, but he'll do just fine."

Pidge shook her head. "Idiot."

"Soulmates!" Mateo sing-sang, causing Lance to grin as he looked back at his nephew.

The two only continued to talk to each other, and the laughter died down as the night wore on. By the end of the night, the incident had been pushed to the back of each of their minds as they played games with the younger children and had conversations with the adults. Pidge had her face smashed into her cake as it was brought out by Keith, and she had chased him around her yard for a solid fifteen minutes. By twelve, everyone was starting to say their goodbye's.

Colleen looked around, her brows furrowed. "Where's Katie?"

Sam looked around too before chuckling, pointing up at the treehouse. "There."

Keith and Pidge were sitting inside the tree house, waving at Lance, who was leaving with his family. Keith hummed as he looked up at the moon, smiling. "Today was good."

"Well, it was good expect for the whole Acxa thing," Pidge said, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to warm herself up. "Either way, it was a great eighteenth birthday party. Thank you, Keith."

"For what?"

"For making me forget about my homework, even if it was just for a few hours," she said in amusement, looking out at the moon. "Can you remember the last time we sat in the treehouse?"

"Nope," Keith said, turning to look at her with a smile. "Doesn't matter now, does it? We're here, and it feels pretty damn perfect."

Pidge hummed in agreement, sighing. "It does feel pretty perfect, doesn't it?"

Keith nodded. "Really perfect."

Pidge looked down at his hand, biting her lip. She hesitantly slipped her hand into his own, feeling him tense up. She intertwined their fingers and squeezed his hand, smiling up at him. "It is really perfect. Thank you," she said, leaning agent his shoulder as she yawned. "Really perfect."

Keith looked down at her, the heat in his cheeks ever so present as he watched her fall asleep, listening to her breathing. He looked down at their intertwined hands and he smiled, looking to the side with a blush. He didn't know what they were at this point, but he didn't care. Maybe Mateo had a point. Maybe they _were_ soulmates.

He looked back at her and sighed, shaking his head. Maybe one day they could be something more than friends, but he was content where he was right now. They didn't need a label; they just needed each other in their lives. Looking up at the moon, he smiled.

Tonight really was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop finally! Sorry for not updating earlier, but I've been hella busy. Anyways, heres a long chapter that will hopefully make up for my absence lol. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Also, Rewrite The Stars is a bop and I love it so much.


	29. I’ll Be There For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The people at Altea High love to whisper about Pidge and Lotor, and she’s tired of it. Hunk and Lance try their best to find out what happened in the treehouse, and an unexpected promposal takes place during lunch. Keith also has to finally face his future as he finds out wether or not he was accepted into his dream college.

Hopeless. That was how Pidge felt as she walked through the all-too familiar halls of Altea High, ignoring the looks and whispers that she knew were aimed at her. Well, that's what she believed, anyways. 

She had been in first period when the whispers had started, and so far, all she knew was that they had to do with her relationship with Lotor. She had overheard some girls talking about prom during third period, and then they had looked at her with disgusted looks before turning away, leaving her to stare at them blankly with a sinking feeling in her stomach for the rest of the day up until lunch.

 _What if they know?_  It was giving her a headache, her worry that someone had found out about Lotor's plans growing as the crowds of whispering people grew. She was getting paranoid. 

She finally made it to the cafeteria, where she immediately spotted Keith and the others sitting at their regular table. She sighed, making her way to the table with a tired expression. Lance stopped laughing as soon as Pidge sat down, his smile replaced with a frown. "Dude, you look horrible. Who's funeral is it today?"

"Mine," Pidge mumbled as she stole an apple off of Keith's tray, taking a bite before frowning. "Everyone is talking about me and Lotor, and it's really pissing me off. I mean, can't they just leave it be? We stopped dating for a reason."

"Yeah, because he's a bitch," Keith scoffed, crossing his arms. "Has he tried to talk to you?"

"Uh Keith, if you haven't realized, Lotor hasn't been here all day," Hunk said, shrugging. "Maybe he finally gave up."

Pidge scoffed. "Lotor? Giving up? You're joking, right?" She said, furrowing her brows. "Lotor isn't a person who just 'gives up,' Hunk. He'll do anything to get what he wants, and would rather die before accepting defeat."

"Well he really is living up to the Galra ways, isn't he?" Keith muttered, taking the apple out of Pidge's hand and proceeding to take a bite out of it. "What an ass."

Lance sighed. "Hunk, she's right. I mean, did you see what he did yesterday during gym? He was so determined to score a home run and he didn't stop until he did it. Also, he has quite the batters arm. I didn't expect him to be able to hit a home run," Lance said, shrugging. "I still hate him though."

"We all do," Keith said, crossing his arms. "Anyone who hurts Pidge is immediately on my bad list."

"You have a bad list?" Pidge asked, raising a brow. "Why am I not surprised."

Keith grinned. "My bad list is just a bunch of people who have done you guys any wrong. Lotor takes number one spot for the jackass list though, right above Daniel."

"We don't speak of that name here," Hunk said, shaking his head. "Both Daniel and Lotor are bad names. Especially Daniel."

"Aw, you really hate him, don't you?" Pidge said, slightly grinning. "What I wouldn't give for a relationship like that. I got stuck with a manipulative dick," she muttered, frowning and looking to the side. "I mean seriously, I'm just disappointed for letting him be my first boyfriend. I can't believe I didn't see that toxic shit start to happen," she said, shaking her head. "What a fucking idiot."

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Keith said, smiling at her. "You won't have to date him anymore, and we're going to try and do something make sure the asshole doesn't do anything to you or your family. Trust me on this one, okay?"

Pidge sighed. "You know that nothings going to stop him, right?"

"I told you, don't worry about it. Shiro's been talking about getting help from the weird guys that came to protect Altea High a few weeks ago. They know what they're doing."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I'm putting all my trust on some weird security guards. I feel so safe," she said sarcastically. "So relieved."

"They're actually spies," Hunk intervened, whispering. "Super secret ones, too. I've heard that some of them are posing as our new substitute teachers."

"You're not that far off, actually," Keith said, looking to the side. "Shiro said that most of them are posing as teachers here under the head chief's order. What was his name? It started with a K, but I keep forgetting," he said, scratching his head. "Anyways, Pidge, I got some leads about my mom."

Pidge sat up straight, tilting her head to the side. "Way to change the conversation. What'd you find?" She asked, looking over at his phone. "Is that a picture of her?"

"I wish," Keith said, scrolling through the various screenshots he had taken of his conversations with Acxa. "Acxa did some digging last night and she found out that our mom still lives in the area, and that she never left."

"But why is there a picture of a random woman there?" Lance asked, leaning over the table. 

"Acxa thought that she could be our mom, but I think she's crazy. I mean, she looks nothing like me! Also, she's like seventy years old. Our mom would not be that old."

"So she's a jackass and an idiot," Pidge mused, snorting. "I'm not surprised."

Keith rolled his eyes. "She found out some other stuff too, like the fact that she lives in the northern part of Altea and that her name either starts with an A or K."

"Makes sense. I mean, both of your names start with one of those letters," Hunk said, taking a sip of water. "What if she's right under our noses and we're not looking where we should be? For all we know, she could be here in Altea High."

"Imagine if she was one of those cool spies," Lance grinned. "That would explain why Keith is so good with a knife. Like mother, like son. The ultimate knife duo." He glanced over at Pidge, who was shaking her head.

"How many people have names that start with K?"

"Lets see. Uh, Katie, Katherine, Katrina, Karen, you know, all the generic names," Lance said.

"Well gee, thanks," Pidge said dryly. Lance blinked before sheepishly smiling, sending her an apologetic look. 

"I'm sorry."

"You're fine," Pidge said, waving him off. "Keith, we'll talk more about this when we get home. Also, can I ask what's up with dinner? Your parents invited my family over, and we just had a barbecue last week," she said, remembering her birthday. "Do you know anything about it?"

Keith shrugged. "Nope. I just hope they aren't planning anything weird."

"Weird would be if the dinner isn't to celebrate your betrothal," Lance snickered. "I mean, look at Keith's betrothal gift! Pidge hasn't taken that thing off since she got it. Also, I heard someone fell asleep on another someone in the tree house after we left," he said, grinning smugly and wriggling his brows. "You want to explain what happened that night?"

"N-nothing happened!" Keith stammered, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment. "Pidge just fell asleep on my shoulder because she was tired, and I had to ask Sam to help me get her down, that's it."

"Soulmates," Lance sang, grinning as he saw Pidge facepalm. "You guys would make the best couple here. Of course you won't be better than Plaxum and me, but you'll be pretty close."

"Plaxum and I," Keith corrected, crossing his arms. "You're saying it wrong."

"'You're saying it wrong,'" Lance mimicked, sticking his tongue out. "Look, all I'm saying is that something happened between you guys and you don't want to say it." He paused, gasping. "Oh my god you guys kissed!"

"No!" The two said in unison, attracting the looks from some of the other students in the room. "Why would you even think that?!" Keith said, looking at Lance in disbelief. "I just said that we fell asleep in the treehouse!"

"Looking out at the moon, falling asleep in each others arms," Hunk swooned. "You two have the most romantic experiences while we're not around, it's really annoying," he pouted. 

Pidge sighed, shaking her head. "Hate to break it to you, but he's telling you guys the truth for once. Nothing happened, we just fell asleep in the treehouse and like Keith said, my dad had to come help us down before we could fall to the ground," she said dryly. "You guys are crazy. You know who that would've happened with? Shiro and Allura."

"Shallura?" Lance asked, raising a brow, smirking. "Well now we know where Keith learned how to be romantic from. He learned from Shiro himself!"

Pidge rolled her eyes, getting up. "Whatever. You guys can believe what you want, but it's far from the truth."

"Where are you going?" Keith asked, looking up at Pidge with a raised brow. "Don't let them offend you."

"Relax," Pidge laughed, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "I'm just going to the bathroom. Make sure Lance doesn't do something stupid while I'm gone."

Keith snorted. "That's impossible." 

"I know." Pidge grinned and walked to the bathroom, not bothering to look back at the boys as she walked out of the cafeteria. As soon as she was out of the cafeteria, Keith sighed, turning to look at Hunk and Lance's eager faces. They looked like children who had just found out that they were going to Disney World.

"Soooo?" Hunk asked, grinning. "What really happened that day?"

"Come on man, you've been quiet about it since last week and it's eating us alive! What happened in the treehouse?" Lance asked, tapping his foot impatiently. "I want to know!"

Keith sighed in defeat, crossing his arms. "Will you two shut up about it when we're around Pidge if I tell you?"

The two boys nodded, grinning as Keith rolled his eyes. "Fine. Truth is, we might have uh, held hands?" Keith said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We were just looking out at the moon and talking about what had happened and she sort of just held my hand out of nowhere before saying that the party had been perfect."

Hunk gasped. "No way!"

Lance looked at Keith disbelief, his eyes wide. "Did you guys really just get to the hand holding stage?" He gasped, a horrified look taking over his features. "I wasn't there to take a picture of that! Stupid, stupid!" He said, slapping his forehead. 

Keith shook his head. "My mom and her mom took like twenty different pictures of us sleeping and holding hands in the treehouse. If you want one so badly then you can just ask her. Anyways, I need help. The hand holding is the only thing I can think about and I'm really confused! Does she like me like a friend or more? What are we?"

"Pining idiots, thats what," Lance retorted, crossing his arms. "I have like, hundreds of pictures of all your moments since we were in middle school. There's that one time when you and Pidge had a dance off during our eighth grade dance, oh and that once time during freshman year when the two of you almost died after you dared each other to eat something from the lab we were doing," Lance said, wiping away a tear. "Ah, the good old days. I also have the more. . . romantic moments," he said, smirking.

"How can you tell the difference between romantic moments and platonic moments?"

"There's really no difference, if we had to say," Hunk said, shrugging. "Everything you guys do can be seen as either romantic or platonic, like that one time she helped patch up your cuts after you defended her from that one really annoying blonde guy in seventh grade. She adores you, you know," Hunk said. "It's like everyone else but you two can see it."

Keith scoffed. "Please, that's the most stupidest thing I've ever–"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Lance said, clamping a hand over Keith's mouth. "Look, remember what Mateo was saying that night about you two being soulmates? Well, you even said it yourself. Everything you described when you answered him was just how you felt about Pidge. Don't think that I didn't catch that, mister." He sighed.

"Look, the things you said about a soulmate? That's literally your relationship with Pidge, don't try and deny it. You two are practically soulmates, and it's up to you to act on it or to ignore it and watch another guy date her," he said, crossings arms. "And by the looks of it, some guys already want to date her," he said, looking at the cafeteria entrance. 

Keith frowned, turning to look at the entrance of the cafeteria. He spotted Pidge talking to Rolo, his frown deepening. "He's not hitting on her. . . is he?"

"I don't know man," Hunk said, squinting his eyes. "Lance, stop giving Keith a heart attack when you just told him that he and Pidge are soulmates."

"But Hunk!" Lance whined, pouting. "It's fun!"

"It'll be fun when I'm in my grave seventy feet underground," Keith muttered, turning back to them. "I keep questioning the soulmate bullshit, but it's really unlikely that we're–"

"No."

"Un–"

"No."

"But–"

"No!" Hunk said firmly, crossing his arms. "You two were brought together for a reason. Fate wanted you two to be together, and now everyone else wants you together. It's simple, really."

"Thanks," Keith said dryly.

"No problem, dude."

Lance shook his head. "Before Pidge gets here, can I ask you why you gave her a heart necklace? And why green? Oh, also, are you planning on asking her out to prom?"

"I gave her the necklace because I wanted to," Keith sighed. "Seriously, stop looking for romantic moments, it's pissing me off."

"You don't look pissed off," Lance observed, grabbing his fork. "Maybe we should poke you and piss you off."

"And why would you do that?"

"To see if your girlfriend walks over here, duh. Now hold still!" He started poking the bottom of his fork on Keith's cheek, grinning as he saw the raven haired boy clench his fists. "He's gonna blow!"

"Cut it out!"

Pidge looked over at them with a weary expression, visibly sighing as she made her way over to them. Lance grinned, fist bumping Hunk. "And that's what I call a success."

"Can you guys behave for more than two seconds?" Pidge asked, taking her seat next to Keith and looking at the three boys, her weary expression unchanged. "Seriously, I wasn't even gone for more than ten minutes! And what the fuck did you do to Keith?"

Keith scowled. "Tell Lance to fuck off. He won't stop poking me with his fork and it's pissing me off."

"I mean–"

"You think she knows?"

"I don't know!"

"Oh what I would give to get a promposal!"

Pidge turned her head around to the two girls behind her, furrowing her brows in confusion. "Okay seriously, someone tell me what the hell you're talking about before I punch the shit out of you!"

Keith's eyes widened and he quickly pulled her back, sending the girls behind them a sheepish smile. "Sorry, she's just uh, on those days. Terrible mood swings, you know," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and getting up. "Please, enjoy your lunch. We'll just be on our way–"

"Hey, aren't you that kid that ate my lunch a few years ago?"

"We're leaving!" Keith pulled Pidge along out of the cafeteria, the girl looking at him in confusion. "Come on Pidge, we have to go to class."

"But we have ten minutes until class starts!"

"Leaving!"

They managed to make it out of the cafeteria, Keith sighing in relief. "Okay, that was really close. I really thought she wouldn't recognize me. Guess I was wrong. Hey Pidge, you doing okay?"

"As good as a girl can be after she's dragged out of the cafeteria ten minutes before the bell rings," she said, looking at him with a tired expression. "Dude, were you seriously scared of one girl?"

"Listen, I've been around you and Allura for a while, so I know that grudges can live on forever. Especially ones with food," he said, shuddering. "Besides, you looked like you were ready to kill someone unless they told you what was going on. I had to get you out of there before you actually did stab someone with a plastic fork," he said, eyeing her from the corner of his eyes. "You also look kinda cute when you're all riled up, by the way," he teased as he walked down the hall, letting go of her. 

Pidge blinked, looking after him with wide, confused eyes. "What?"

Keith shrugged, walking faster towards the staircase. _Holy shit did I just flirt with her?_ He grinned as he made his way to the doors, only to pause as he heard an all too familiar voice from the other end of the hall where Pidge was.

"Hello, Katie." 

His blood ran cold as he heard Lotor's voice, turning around and spotting Him standing in front of her with the four other girls behind him holding balloons that spelled out 'prom.' _What the hell?_

Pidge glared at him, clenching her fists. "What the hell do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Lotor chuckled, extending an arm towards her. "I'm here to ask you to go to prom with me." He gestured around to the balloons that Acxa, Ezor, Narti and Zethrid were holding, all spelling out 'prom.' By now, a crowd of students had appeared around them, music playing in the background as Lotor tilted his head to the side. "So? What do you say? Prom?"

Pidge glared at him, looking at the faces of the four behind him. Ezor and Zethrid both shook their heads, leaving Acxa to nod, as if telling her to accept the request. She looked into Lotor's eyes, immediately seeing his expression change into a smirk as he held out a bouquet of roses. "Let us put aside our differences and enjoy this glorious moment that prom will offer us, Katie. I have never stopped caring about you, and it would please me greatly if you joined me for prom. So what do you say?" His smirk grew as he glanced back at the crowd chanting for Pidge to accept.

"I'll even have the girls take you out the mall to help you find a dress," he said, looking her straight in the eyes, mocking her. He knew that she didn't want to hang out with them, and he was using it against her to manipulate the crowd into telling her that she should go to prom with him. "I'm not hearing a no," Lotor said, grinning. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

"You're not hearing a no because she has to make a decision on who she wants to go to prom with!" Lance said, standing next to Hunk and Keith. He glared at Lotor. "Take your bleached roots somewhere else, Lotor. Pidge isn't going to prom with you."

"Oh really? Then who is she going with? You?" Lotor said, chuckling. "No one will believe that. You are dating someone else, are you not? A certain Plaxum, if I am not mistaken. Unless something else is going that I don't know about," Lotor said innocently. 

Lance rolled his eyes. "Stop trying to start drama when there's clearly no tea to spill. At least I have a relationship," he retorted, grinning in satisfaction as the people in the crowd cheered him on. "Besides, I'm not the one that's going to ask Pidge out to prom."

"Then who is it? I don't have all day."

"It's Keith," Lance said proudly, pushing Keith froward, the crowd and Pidge gasping as Keith stumbled to a stop next to the girl. "He's the real man here," he said smugly.

Keith's eyes widened and he looked back at Lance, Pidge looking at him in confusion. "You son of a bitch," Keith muttered under his breath, Lance grinning and motioning for him to talk, causing Keith to take a deep breath. He turned around to face Lotor, any feelings of uncertainty changing as he saw how Lotor glared at him. "What are you looking at?"

"Where's your gift? Your poster? Your roses? How do you expect to ask a girl to go to prom with you if you can't even bring her a gift?" Lotor chuckled, shaking his head. "You have no chance, really. How disappointing. I truly expected an actual worthy opponent."

"Worthy my ass, you're not worthy of taking her to prom," Keith scowled, clenching his fists. "She deserves to be taken to prom by someone she actually likes and knows, not an ex who's trying to flatter her with things that she doesn't even like," he said, his tone cold. "Pidge deserves better than you, and she does't want to go with you. I really don't care if I don't have roses, or chocolate, or any of that cheesy bullshit. I know Pidge, and she knows me. See, you had zero chances of going to prom with her," he said, chuckling lowly before glaring at him. "She's _mine_ , and she's going to prom with me."

Lotor shook his head. "Then please, go ahead and ask her if she wants to go to prom with you." He snorted, turning to look back at the crowd. "Don't feel too bad for him when she rejects him, it's simply a life process that he cannot and will not understand," he said in fake sympathy.

Keith turned around to look at Pidge, the girl looking at him with wide eyes. "What are you doing?" She whispered, looking into his eyes with confusion.

"Saving you," he whispered before smiling. _Trust me,_ his eyes were screaming. _Trust me._ He cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully as he smiled at her. "Pidge, I might not have a bunch of fancy, expensive shit or be the most organized person, but you deserve to go to prom with someone who actually cares about you," he said, shooting Lotor a glare. "I'm a messy person and pretty spontaneous, so forgive me for doing this out of nowhere without any warning, because I know how much you hate sudden things. Pidge, do you want to rewrite the stars with me by going to prom with me?" He asked, blushing and smiling at her.

Pidge's cheeks flushed and she licked her lips, looking at Keith's smile and extended hand. She shot Acxa one quick look, the girl glaring at her and shaking her head, Lotor glaring daggers into her soul. She pursed her lips, glaring back before looking at Keith, a smile on her face as she nodded. "What a dork. Yes, I'll rewrite the stars with you," she said, laughing as the crowd cheered. Keith grinned and pulled her in for a hug, Pidge wrapping her arms around his torso.

"Sucks to suck, doesn't it, Loturd?" Lance said, grinning as he saw Lotor glare at him. "Don't worry, there's always the next girl who hopefully won't be your ex!" He said cheerfully, waving at Lotor as he walked away with the girls behind him, holding onto the roses and balloon tightly. "Later, sucker!"

"Okay, what's going on here?" Allura asked, pushing her way through the crowd with Shiro and Matt behind her. She stopped as soon as she reached Lance, looking at Keith and Pidge with a confused expression. "What happened?"

"Promposal," Lance said, waving his hands in front of him wildly, grinning. "Lotor and Keith fought over who would take Pidge to prom, and well, Keith obviously won. Seriously, how stupid do you have to be to think that you can beat Keith in asking Pidge out on a date?" He snorted. 

"You'd have to be Lotor to reach that level of stupid," Hunk said, grinning as he watched Keith and Pidge walk towards them.

Matt snorted. "Can you imagine what would happen if they were actually a couple after this? Also, Lance, please tell me you caught it on video. I need physical evidence before I can believe."

"It's on my snap story," Lance grinned. "Believe me, everyone is going to have a field day when they figure out that Keith successfully asked Pidge to prom without any flowers or all that cheesy stuff."

"Keith did _what?!_ " Shiro shrieked, successfully causing the students to scatter and head to their classes while Keith and Pidge smiled at Shiro. Shiro walked up to Keith, his eyes wide. "Did you seriously do a promposal? The thing you said you weren't going to do?" He asked incredulously, Keith nodding as they made their way to the library. 

"Yep."

"How do you feel?" Allura asked Pidge, the smaller girl shrugging before smirking.

"I feel relieved. Keith, why did you use that specific line to ask me out to prom?" She said, smiling as Keith shrugged.

"I've had the song stuck in my head for a solid week, so that was the best I could come up with. Why? Was it not enough to satisfy you? Oh, there's one I should've used instead. 'I will forever be satisfied if you go to prom with me.' Eh?" He asked, grinning while Pidge facepalmed. "Oh come on, you know it's great!"

"You're such a dork," she said, laughing. "But seriously, thank you for saving my ass from having to say yes to Lotor back there. That would've been a fucking nightmare."

"Agreed." 

The group laughed as they made their way to the library, Lance and Keith talking about various cheesy ways to ask someone out to prom with Allura remarking how Shiro had asked her out to prom during a spring pep rally. Meanwhile, Lotor was standing outside the school with the girls, throwing the roses into the garbage and popping the balloons with a thorn from the roses that surrounded Altea High.

"I told you so. All of Lotor's plans failed," Ezor said, crossing her arms as she watched Lotor pop each balloon, one by one. 

"This was just humiliating," Zethrid said, shaking her head. "Do you think he's going to try something else?"

"Force probably," Ezor said, frowning. "He's not going to give up, that much is for sure. Hey Acxa, what was up with the staring match you had with Keith?"

Acxa pursed her lips. "None of your concern."

Hurt flashed over Ezor's face and she frowned, looking away from her girlfriend. "Okay then."

Lotor walked over to them, looking at Acxa with a cold glare. "What did you do?"

"I did nothing than stand there and hold a balloon." 

"I know you did something! She was almost in my clutches again, but that bastard had to show up and ruin my chances! He wasn't there when everything started, so tell me, what did you do?" Lotor snarled.

Acxa glared back at him. "You know, there was once a time when I considered you a close friend. Funny how we've gone from that to you attacking me for something I clearly did not do. I didn't do anything other than hold up a balloon and watch everything happen, that's it."

"Hey Lotor, if you want to blame anyone, blame the Lance kid who actually pushed Keith into the circle, not Acxa, who clearly didn't do anything," Ezor said, glaring at him. "You're upset, we get it! But pointing fingers isn't going to fix anything. We tried it our way and it didn't work; we tried it your way and it didn't work, so tell me, just how many more times are we going to try and get her to help you? She's clearly done with you and now that she has Keith, she won't be willing to run back into your arms like she was after they fought. Face it, you're done. Just give up already," Ezor finished. "You can't win this time."

"No," Lotor snarled, clenching his fists. "I will get what I want, and I don't care at what price! She will help us if she knows what's good for her. But first, we need to hurt her where it'll hurt the most." He smirked, looking back at the school. "And I know exactly how we can do that.

* * *

Keith laughed as Pidge shoved Matt in the ribs, the trio walking back to their houses after the long day at school. "You're going to break his ribs, you know. Just imagine the medical bill."

"The medical bill is not important, Keith."

"It kind of is," Matt said, crossing his arms. "Besides, I want to live long enough to see my children grow up."

"What children?" Pidge asked, raising a brow. "The closest thing you have to a child is BaeBae, and you can't even take care of him!"

"In my defense, he likes you better," Matt said, grinning. "He actually listens to you. Oh, and don't get me me started on how he listens to Keith more than he listens to me, which is really stupid. I mean, come on! I'm his older brother, he should listen to me!"

Pidge snorted. "You're also my older brother, but I rarely listen to you. I only listen when you're giving me actual solid advice, not screaming about how Shiro and you could've gotten a happily ever after when you're drunk."

"Shh, that was before the wedding. I'm practically cured of my Shiro-itis for the time being. I have a girlfriend now, and she's the best," Matt said dreamily as they reached the driveway. Pidge and Keith looked at each other with weary expressions, Matt grinning as he saw them look at each other. "Well, I'll just head on inside. Pidge, hurry up, I wanna show you something."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Don't rush me, I'll go inside when I want." Matt only sighed and walked inside the Holt residence, leaving Pidge to stand in the street with Keith. They stood there in silence for a while, just looking at each other. Pidge finally spoke up, sighing. "I know what you're thinking about, you know."

"Really?"

"You're thinking about what happened today, aren't you?"

Keith looked to the side, rubbing his neck. "You don't have to take it literally if you don't want to. It doesn't mean anything. I just wanted to get you out of that situation because Lotor had no right trying to ask you out for prom knowing what he did to you. He's a jerk, and I care for you too much to let you go back with him."

Pidge took his hands into her own, watching his cheeks flush. "Keith, thank you for what you did. You're seriously a life savior, and I owe you a lot. Thanks for not being a jerk and showing me why you're my best friend," she said, smiling at him before letting of his hands, waving as she walked up her front steps. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Deal," Keith shouted before running up his own front steps, walking inside to find Aiko and his dad waiting for him with an envelope. In the Holt residence, Pidge walked inside, only to find herself face to face with a sealed envelope in Sam's hands, Colleen and Matt standing next him with huge smiles on their faces. 

"What's this?"

Sam gently placed it in her hand, the girl looking at it curiously before gasping. _Altea University._ She quickly threw her book bag on the floor and tore the envelope open, excitement and nervousness coursing through her veins as she read the letter. She had to reread it ten different times before processing what she had read, a huge smile breaking out onto her features as she jumped up and down in happiness.

"I got a full ride scholarship to Altea University!"

Matt lunged towards her and hugged her, rubbing her hair affectionately. "I knew it! I knew you would get a full ride scholarship; I could feel it in my heart!"

"Oh Pidge we're so proud of you!" Sam bawled as he hugged Colleen, the woman wiping away a few stray tears of her own. "So very proud of you!"

Pidge laughed, holding her acceptance letter against her chest as she jumped up and down. "Oh man oh man I'm so excited! Wait." She paused, looking upstairs with wide eyes. "Keith!"

"Keith?" Matt repeated, raising a brow. 

"Keith!" She bolted up the stairs, throwing her door open and then opening her window curtains, coming face to face with Keith, who was looking at his sealed envelope with a solemn expression. "Keith, open the envelope!" She screamed as she threw a rock at his window, causing the boy to jerk up and look at her with a confused expression.

He opened his own window, raising a brow. "What?"

"Open the envelope!"

Keith looked back at the envelope, nervously drumming his hands on the window sill. "I'm not ready," he said, looking down with a nervous expression. "I don't want to open it and just realize that I wasn't good enough to get into the school. I don't want–"

"Hey, hey," Pidge said in a soft tone, causing Keith to look up with a small frown. "Whatever the results are, you know that you tried your best, and that's the only thing that matters. Just open it, Keith. You could have a golden ticket in your hands," she said, smiling at him. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay here and be your moral support."

Keith took a deep breath before sighing, picking up the envelope with trembling hands. He carefully tore it open, pulling out the one sheet of paper that contained his future on it. He felt like throwing up as he held the folded sheet of paper in his hands, looking at Pidge with an uncertain expression. She smiled encouragingly, nodding. With a deep breath, he carefully opened the folded paper.

_This is it. Time to see if I can actually follow in Shiro's footsteps like he wants me to._

He read the paper ten different times, letting it fall to the ground as he looked at Pidge, the paper laying abandoned on the floor. She looked at him with a confused expression, leaning on her windowsill eagerly. "Keith?"

She wasn't expecting him to look at her with glassy eyes and a broken expression. All it took was for her to hear the hoarseness in his throat as he went, "Pidge," and her heart nearly stopped as she saw tears fall down his face. A million thoughts ran through her mind as she watched him look at her with teary eyes, remembering that the only other time he had looked like that was when Shiro had gotten into a really bad car accident that cost him his arm, and she could think was, _oh no, please not this again. Please don't let him break again._

"Keith?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no consistent updating schedule I’m so sorry. I hope you enjoy this chapter!


	30. Fight For Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Pidge and Keith realize that their actions have consequences when they try to defy Lotor, and Keith gets one more step closer to finding out who his mother is.

Soulmates. It seemed like such a childish and made up thing to Keith, but he had quickly started shedding those thoughts after realizing that he and Pidge were going to go to the same college together.

It seemed like no matter what they did, they were destined to be in each other's lives until death did them apart. They had gone to the same elementary school, middle school, high school, and now they had been accepted into the same college. It was as if fate didn't want them to ever be separated.

"Keith, lets go," Pidge said, interrupting his thought process. She stood in front of him with her hands stuffed in her sweater pockets, tapping her foot on the floor impatiently. "We have to be back at the house by twelve so that we can actually be there to witness my dad trying to cook something other than peas. That's going to be epic," she grinned.

Keith rolled his eyes, pulling out a water bottle from the store fridge. "There are more exciting things in life than watching your dad try to barbecue things, Pidge. Besides, he makes some mean steak, but it takes him hours to do it. Remind me again, why are we having another party?"

"To celebrate how we all got accepted into Altea University, duh," Pidge said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, grinning. "I'm still really happy that all of us are going to the same college, though. Like, how amazing is that?"

"Too amazing. It seems too good to be true," Keith said, the two walking up to the cashier with their basket of groceries, allowing the cashier to place them into bags. "I mean, I'm happy that we aren't being split up, but it feels kind of weird knowing that we're still going to see each other every day for four more years. I'm honestly just shocked," Keith said, pulling out his wallet. "Not mad or complaining, just confused."

Pidge shrugged. "Well, I guess that's what happens when you work hard enough to have a good future. It looks like fate doesn't want us to leave each other" she joked. "It is kinda weird, but not really. I'm just happy I get to see you piece of shits for four more years."

"Thirty five dollars."

"Don't remind me," Keith said, passing the amount of money needed to the cashier. "I'm going to be stuck seeing you every day for four more days."

"Hey, knowing us, we'll probably be living on the same street as neighbors even after we graduate," she joked, taking the bags off the counter and handing some to Keith. "You aren't getting rid of me that easily, you jerk."

Keith shook his head, taking the bags from her hands. "I know, and that's what terrifies me. Our kids are going to grow up knowing each other and are probably going to be the same piece of shits that we were when we were five. Remember when you tried to cut my hair when we were five?"

PIdge snorted. "Believe me, that was one of my proudest moments when I was five. Your bowl cut made you look like you were a stick with a cabbage for a head," she said bluntly, walking with him out of the store. "I can't believe you went from a bowl cut to whatever your hair is now," she said, reaching up and tugging on his hair. "Whatever it is, it's really fucking soft."

"Thanks, It's called using shampoo," Keith said, grinning. "My head did not look like a cabbage when we were five. You just hated me and used any excuse you could think of to ruin my life," he joked. "Also, it's kind of funny to me how you were the one who loved scissors and now I'm the one with the knife collection. I always thought you would be the one to grow up with an obsession for sharp things," he said, shrugging as they crossed the street. "Other than us wanting to kill each other, nothing much has changed."

"On the contrary, oh broody one," Pidge said, raising a finger to object. "For one, I still want to kill you when you annoy me, I just do a better job at hiding it now. Secondly, I personally think that our. . . friendship," she said carefully, quickly glancing up at Keith, "has changed a lot. I mean, we went from ultimate best friends to enemies to goals in a span of five months. The fact that we've lasted this long without ending our friendship shocks me," Pidge said. "Not that I'm complaining, though. I like having you around. Well, most of the time." he laughed as she saw Keith pout, the boy eventually laughing along with her.

"It honestly is a miracle that our friendship has lasted this long. Remember in third grade when we brought cupcakes in for my birthday and you ended up throwing one at some kid's head? Ah, those were the good old days," Keith said, shaking his head. "Nowadays we have psychotic teenagers who want to kill people and gays taking over prom, although the last part is actually a positive thing."

"You're talking about me, aren't you?"

"Are you gay?"

"Depends. Are you European?"

"Yeah, because Japan is in Europe," Keith deadpanned. "Do I look European? No, I don't. Why am I even questioning this? Of course I'm not European!"

"But you see, you're either gay or European," Pidge said, smirking as Keith shot her a dirty look. "What?"

"You did not just reference what I think you referenced."

"Did I? I didn't notice," she teased, grinning as Keith shook his head. "Oh, lighten up, Keith. I'm trying to be funny here!"

Keith shrugged. "You're funny when you bump into everything without your glasses. You look like you're sleepwalking. Sometimes, I don't know if you're sleepwalking or looking for your glasses because of how similar your two forms look like."

"I have two main forms when I go to school. I either dress like I give a shit, meaning I wear decent clothes, or I dress like I don't give a fuck, which means that I just walk into Altea High looking like a dead person." She paused, raising a brow. "Now that I think about it, looking dead on the outside isn't so bad. It's just reflecting how I feel on the inside."

"Mood."

She snorted. "Of course being dead inside is a mood for you. You're either dead inside or just really sleep deprived."

"What's the difference? High school has fucked up my sleep schedule," he said, looking down at Pidge. "If anyone is really sleep deprived around here, it's probably you."

Pidge chuckled, shaking her head. "Keith, I've been sleep deprived since I came out of the womb."

Keith rolled his eyes. "How is that even possible?"

"As I was saying, the last time I got good sleep was when I was in the womb"

They laughed as they rounded the corner, Keith shaking his right arm. "My arm hurts," he complained, rolling his right shoulder back and forth. "Why did we have to buy groceries now? I thought your parents already had everything!"

Pidge shrugged, rolling her left shoulder back and forth. "They forgot some stuff and since we're the youngest–"

"And the wittiest."

Pidge looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, her left brow raised. "Are you serious?"

"What?"

"That's not even how the song goes! Angelica says 'the oldest and the wittiest,' remember? Don't be an idiot, idiot," she said, shaking her head. "How do you forget Hamilton lyrics?"

"In my defense, I haven't listened to Hamilton for a while," he said, pouting. "Well, not since uh, well yeah, you know what."

"You know you can just call it out breakup, right?"

"What?"

"Never mind!" Pidge said, looking at him in exasperation. "Dude, you haven't listened to Hamilton since we stopped talking?" She whistled. "Damn, that's a whole ass five months. Aw, did it bring up the fun times we had yelling Hamilton lyrics on the roof at three in the morning?" She asked, grinning.

Keith sighed, smiling. "Kinda."

"That's cute," she teased.

Keith snorted and bumped her shoulder playfully, Pidge doing the same as they rounded a street corner. Pidge's smiled slipped from her face as she looked around, suddenly tensing up. Keith frowned, looking at her in concern.

"What's wrong?"

Pidge frowned, suddenly stopping in her tracks. "I have a weird feeling about walking down this street. It's like–" She paused, looking around. "It's like we're in danger. Let's take another route home," she said, turning around to face Keith with a pleading look. "Please?"

"But we're almost there," Keith said, looking at her incredulously. "There's literally no danger in walking here. We've walked here hundreds of times," he said, putting his free hand up to his hip. "If you want to take the long way home then that's up to you, but I am not turning around because of your fear." He frowned, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I know you're jumpy because of Lotor, but he's not here. He's halfway across town, and you're here with me. And even if he tried to do something, I would protect you," he said.

Pidge looked up at him with a frown, eventually sighing. "Fine. But I still don't like this."

"We walked past this street when we went to the store and nothing happened. Relax, we'll be okay," he reassured her, smiling softly. "Just follow me and trust me."

Pidge looked at him with uncertainty before wrapping her left arm around his right, taking a deep breath. "I still think this is a bad idea, but lets do it. If we get run over, I'm blaming you," she said, attempting to crack a joke to hide the fact that she was very worried. She knew that she shouldn't be so worried, but she was. Since she had turned down Lotor, her fears of him living up to his promise had grown. She couldn't explain it, but everything suddenly felt wrong. It felt like something bad was going to happen to either her and Keith, and it frightened her, although she was trying her best to hide it.

She only clutched onto his arm tighter as they continued walking, getting closer to a street alley that was suspiciously quiet. As they passed the first building on one side of the alley, three tall figures in black apparel stepped out, causing them to stop in their tracks. They were taller than both of them with clearly defined muscles under their black suits, the only way of being able tell who they were being their eye colors. All of them had light amber, almost yellow, narrowed eyes, which were looking into her own dark amber eyes and Keith's purple eyes. She felt Keith's body tense up as the three men walked closer to them, her throat going dry as she watched them get closer.

She tugged on his arm slightly, Keith glancing at her with a frown and narrowed eyes. "Run!" He yelled, the two dropping the grocery bags on the ground as they made a dash for the closest store to take cover in. As soon as they started running, the three men started running behind them as well, quickly catching up to them. Pidge looked back at them out of the corner of her eye, willing her legs to go faster. _You outran Lotor and Keith on two separate occasions. Come on stupid legs, work with me!_ She tried to catch up to Keith, only to be snatched up by one of the men as she stumbled. Panicking, she started screaming and lashing out, aggressively kicking the man and hitting him with her fists. "Let me go!" She snarled, desperately trying to get loose.

Keith heard her yells and immediately turned around, watching the masked figures take Pidge into the alley, the girl trying to get out of the tallest one's grip. He clenched his teeth and his eyes narrowed, fire coursing through his veins as he snarled. _Not Pidge._ He ran back towards the alley, fists clenched as he stood there, looking for Pidge. "Katie!" He yelled, worry and fury evident in tone as he spotted her in the middle of the alley, being held back by one of the men, the other two looking straight at him with malicious filled eyes.

"Keith!"

"Let her go!" Keith snarled, looking at the one who held Pidge with anger filled eyes.

"I don't think so," the man replied in a gruff voice, a wicked expression taking over his features. "Get him!" He ordered, the other two running towards Keith, Pidge's eyes widening. Keith was going to die.

"Keith get out of here!" She screamed, trying to loosen her arms from the mans grip. "Run!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

He held his fists up as the two other men reached him, the three having a standoff as they stared at one another, Keith raising his brows, inviting them to fight. The shortest man immediately started throwing punches from Keith's right, Keith raising his arms to block the blows. The other man started attacking his left, Keith managing to land a punch on the mans face before being struck on his right arm, causing him to hiss in pain. His right arm was still sore from carrying the groceries, and he stopped fighting back momentarily, allowing the shortest man to land a solid hit in his chest.

Keith felt the wind be knocked out of him, gasping for air as he clutched his chest, doubling over in pain as he tried to breathe. Using this to their advantage, the men started punching the other parts of his body, not sparing his face as they attacked. Keith attempted to take deep breaths in, trying to protect himself from the onslaught. He tried to land a punch on one of the men's face, only to fall to ground as the shortest one kicked his knees. His knees buckled and he fell, the punches turning into kicks as they continued to beat the shit out of him. He could hear Pidge screaming his name as he started blacking out, the goons kicking his head. He attempted to cover his head with his arms, praying to every god he could think of to save him. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and he cried out, the men only attacking him more harshly as he attempted to move.

"Where do you think you're going?" The tallest one snarled as Pidge kicked his legs, the girl crying as she helplessly watched Keith get beat up right in front of her.

"Keith!" She cried out hoarsely, tears streaming down her face as she turned around to look up at the man with a hatred full expression. "You monster! You're going to fucking kill him!"

"Aw, is his little girlfriend worried about her weak boyfriend?" The man sneered.

"Stop! Just let him go! We didn't do anything to you fucking assholes!"

"Shut up!" The man barked, grinning wickedly under his mask as he watched Keith get beaten to a pulp.

"What the hell do you want from us?" She yelled, her fists trembling in anger as she heard Keith keep crying out. He wasn't going to last much longer if he kept being beaten, the bruises on his body growing as he tried to cover his head with his arms. "Just say it and we'll do it, but please, don't hurt him!" She pleaded. "I'll do anything, but let him go!"

"You should've thought of that before you accepted his prom proposal," the man snarled. "Now both of you are going to pay the price."

"So you're going to kill me too? Go ahead, do it!"

"Nobody is being killed, you wench! You're being taught a lesson. He will get the physical beating, but you will pay the ultimate price knowing that your actions caused him to be in this position," he snarled, Keith screaming as he was kicked in the ribs.

Pidge's eyes widened as she realized what he was saying, turning to look at Keith with a horrified expression. "No! Let him go! Keith!"

The man shook her by her arms. "Silence!" He bellowed, the two men beating Keith looking at him with narrowed eyes. "Haxus, Prorok, let the weak one go. By now he should've learned his lesson," he chuckled lowly.

The two men stopped kicking him, the shortest one taking one last kick at his body before bolting to the right, the one holding Pidge finally letting go of her. She immediately rushed to Keith's side, crouching down and cradling his head in her lap, parting his hair to see the damage. "Keith, answer me!"

The tallest goon only looked at her before bolting off as well, Pidge touching Keith's neck to check for a pulse. He coughed, opening his eyes slightly to look up at Pidge. "Did he hurt you?" He asked hoarsely, Pidge pulling him up into a hug.

"You're alive!"

"Barely," he said, wincing as he felt a shooting pain running through his chest. "Fuck!"

"What is it? Did he break your ribs? Do we need to go to the hospital? I'm so fucking sorry," she said, running a hand through his hair. "This is all my fault."

"No it's not," Keith managed to say, attempting to sit up. He grimaced and put a hand up to his chest, a burning sensation rippling through his body. "They're just assholes."

"No, this is all my fault!" She moaned, pulling on her bangs frustratedly. "The guy said something about your promposal and how I should've denied it and Keith, he was right! I only made Lotor angry, and now he went after you!"

Keith grabbed her hand, looking into her eyes with his own. "Pidge, no matter if that's true or not, I would've fought for you anyways. Lotor's a dick, and I knew he was going to get back at me in some way. Let's just go home," he said, wincing as he tried to get up. "I'm tired."

"Can you walk? Want me to call Matt to pick us up?" Pidge asked, watching him grimace as he tried to walk. "No, sit down. I'm calling Matt," she decided as she tried to get Keith to sit on the ground. The boy only shook his head, attempting to pick up the groceries.

"No. Let's pick the stuff up and go home."

Pidge grabbed his arms and successfully stopped him, glaring at him. "Keith, the groceries aren't important. I'll get my dad to go buy them if he really needs them, but you're too beat up to carry groceries." She let go of him and crossed her arms. "If you don't want me to call Matt, then let's just go home. I don't want the assholes to come back."

Keith looked at her for a few seconds before sighing, limping towards her. "Fine." He wrapped an arm around her neck, holding onto her for support while she did her best to hold him up as they walked home, Keith limping. They were about four blocks away from their street, and as they walked, she kept thinking about what the man had said.

_I did this. I made him mad, I made him attack. Fuck, what if he attacks Matt too? What if he goes after Lance for being the one to shame him when I rejected his offer? Fuck, what if he goes after Keith again? This isn't good. I knew I should've accepted his offer! She clenched her teeth, glaring at the ground as they neared her home. Keith looked down at her in worry, as if he knew what she was thinking._

"Pidge. It wasn't your fault."

"But it was! I knew he was going to pull some shit! I never should've accepted your offer, because now he's going to keep sending people to jump and attack you. Keith, you should've never asked," she said, frowning. "Now you're involved in the mess even more and–"

"Hey, I would take those goons on any day," he said, looking at her. "I knew what I was getting myself into, and I'm not sorry for what I did. I chose to get involved, so it's on me if I get hurt. It wasn't your fault," he reassured her. Pidge only looked at him from the corner of her eye before the two rounded their street corner.

She quickened her pace and within two minutes, they were in front of her house. "I'm going to try and sneak you upstairs into my bathroom. Don't make any noise. I don't want my mom to ask what happened," she said.

"My mom's going to find out anyways. We'll just have to hope she doesn't see me now." The two walked up her front steps before Pidge unlocked the door.

As soon as they walked through the front door, they were met by wide eyes and shocked expressions. Matt and Lance both looked at the two, Aiko letting out a shriek as she saw Keith's bruised face. "Keith!"

"What the fuck happened to you?!"

"Dude, you have a bruise the size of Canada!"

"Stop over exaggerating," Keith muttered as Pidge guided him towards the couch. "It's not that bad, anyways."

"Not that bad?!" Aiko said, looking at her son incredulously. "You have cuts and bruises all over your face!"

"Did they hurt you anywhere else?" Colleen asked, standing in front of Keith with a concerned expression. "Lance, go get me a bowl of cold water and soap from the bathroom. Matt, go get me gauze from my room, and Pidge, go get a ziplock bag with ice in it to nurse his wounds," she said, the three immediately scattering to look for the supplies.

"Keith, what happened? You were only supposed to go to the grocery store!" Aiko screeched, parting his front bangs to check his forehead for wounds. "Do you feel dizzy? Did you black out?"

"No mom, I'm fine," Keith said, frowning. "They're just some guys who picked on us, but I'm fine, I promise."

"Wait, did you say 'us?'" Colleen asked, pausing from checking his wounds. "Are you talking about–"

"I got the ice!" Pidge announced as she ran back to Keith, gently pressing the ice to his cheek. Keith winced, causing Pidge to send him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I'll try to be more careful."

"Katie, did they hurt you too?" Colleen asked, rushing over to her daughter to check for any injuries. Pidge swatted her hand away, shaking her head.

"No mom, they didn't hurt me, but they got Keith really bad. Does he need stitches?" She asked, watching Aiko clean his cuts with the water and soap that Lance had brought.

"Maybe," Aiko said, frowning. "They don't look too deep or very long, though. They're more like scrapes," she said, Keith looking at Pidge with a tired expression.

"Why'd you ask?"

"Because you looked dead when I finally got to you," she said, glaring at him. "I thought you were really fucking hurt, as in, dying!"

"Well I'm not going anywhere anytime soon," Keith scoffed, watching his mom lift up his pant legs. "My legs are too sore."

"You have multiple bruises along your legs," Colleen said, observing Aiko as she checked his legs. "Did they get your arms too?"

"Yeah," Keith said, taking his sweater off to reveal more bruises along his arms. "They kicked these the most though. I was trying to cover my head so they wouldn't give me a concussion."

"Dude, you look like a grape!" Lance said, looking at Keith's bruises in horror. "You're all purple!"

"No, I look like an orange," Keith said sarcastically, looking at Lance with an unimpressed expression. "What do you want me to look like, a banana?"

"I'd rather you look like a cherry than a grape," Lance said, grabbing Keith's arm and looking it over. "They weren't playing when they attacked you," he whistled.

"Lance," Aiko said, glaring at the boy. "Please give my son's arm back to Colleen. She needs to check for cuts while I disinfect the cuts."

"I'm sorry," Lance said, letting Colleen take a hold of Keith's arm.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?" Pidge asked, moving the ice towards his forehead. "Tell me if I am."

"No, you're fine," Keith said, sighing. "I feel like I'm being babied."

"You just got jumped by two different people!"

"Yeah but I could've taken them on, you know."

"Really? That explains why I'm here putting ice on your face," Pidge said, looking at him with a frown. "Keith, I know you don't like being babied and that shit, but let us take care of you for a while."

"You're not going to school Monday if you're still sore," Aiko announced, checking his arms. "Any cuts or broken bones?" She asked Colleen.

"No, they're just bruises."

Keith rolled his eyes. "I'm not missing a school day because of some bruises on my face, mom. I'll be fine, I swear."

"If it helps, they make you look badass," Matt said, handing his mom the gauze and medical tape. "Think of it! The girls will be all over you when you say that you protected Pidge. They'll say, 'what a guy, that Kogane! Protecting his prom date!'" Matt swooned, batting his eyelashes.

Both Keith and Pidge looked at him with unimpressed faces, Colleen looking at her son in confusion. "Prom date?"

Pidge sighed. "Way to go Matt," she said sarcastically, looking at Keith with a tired expression. "Be prepared to never hear the end of it."

"I've had a day to prepare myself. I think I'll be fine."

"You asked her out to prom?" Colleen asked, looking at Keith incredulously. "I didn't think you had it in you! So when's the first date?"

"Mom! He asked me out so Lotor's crazy ass wouldn't," she said exasperatedly. "The guy doesn't know how to accept the fact that we're over," she said, frowning.

Keith nodded. "She's right."

"Of course I am."

Aiko sighed, taking Keith's hands into her own as she looked into her son's eyes. "Keith, what have we talked about you keeping things from me? First you don't tell me that you've been looking for your birth mom, then you hide the fact that you asked Pidge out to prom, and now you don't want to actually tell me what caused you to be beat up? Keith, you need to talk to me," she said, frowning sadly.

Keith looked at his mom guiltily, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles. "I know. I'm sorry, mom. I know I shouldn't things, but I just, really like my privacy," he said, looking to the side.

Aiko sighed. "I know you're growing up and I respect the fact that you will keep things from me, but I want you to confide in me when big things like these happen," she said, ruffling his hair. "I'm your mom, you know. Birth mom or not, I love you."

Keith smiled slightly, nodding. "I know you do, and I can't thank you enough for that."

Aiko leaned in to hug Keith, the two hugging each other before being interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Colleen raised a brow, clearly confused as she walked to the front door.

"Where we expecting guests?" Pidge asked, watching her mom curiously.

"Not to my knowledge," Colleen said, looking out of the peephole outside. She frowned, causing Keith to tense up. 

"Is it some guys with hoods covering their heads and masks?"

"You don't think they tracked us here, do you?" Pidge asked, looking at Keith with a worried expression. 

"If the thugs tracked you here, then they're going to meet my fists," Matt threatened. "No one hurts my sister and best friends little brother on my watch."

"Colleen, who is it? What's with the face?" Aiko asked, walking towards the door slowly. 

"I'm not sure who these people are," she said uncertainly. "They look like they're spies or something, and it's very unsettling. Why would they be here? We don't have anything to tell them," she said, wringing her hands nervously before looking at Pidge suspiciously. "You didn't hack into any government bases again, did you? Katie, if these men are here for you, I swear–"

"Mom, relax! I haven't done anything like that on purpose anymore," she said, frowning. "And what do you mean that they look like spies? That's really freaky, mom."

Keith furrowed his brows before his eyes widened, as if he had suddenly had a revelation. "Spies? Pidge, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Pidge frowned before her eyes widened as well, looking at Keith with a surprised expression. "You don't think–"

"Holy shit–"

Matt gasped. "No way!"

Aiko and Colleen exchanged looks, looking at their children in confusion. "What do you mean?" Aiko asked, only to be interrupted by Colleen. "Care to enlighten us?"

Lance gasped, suddenly understanding. "The spy ninja guys that Allura's dad hired to protect Altea! What were they called?"

"The Blade of McDonalds," Matt said, snapping his fingers. "Of course!"

"Marmora," Keith corrected, raising a brow. "Blade of Marmora, if I remember correctly."

Aiko frowned. "Who's that?"

"Some cool spy guys who Alfor hired to protect Altea High after some idiot was exposed for making bomb threats," Lance said nonchalantly, rushing towards the door. "Let them in! I wanna hear what they're got to say."

"Bomb threats?! Katie, Matt, what's going on?" Colleen demanded.

Pidge sighed, looking at Keith, a troubled expression taking over her features. "Mom, there's a lot of things going on at Altea High and a lot of them are about me and uh, someone I know," she said, frowning. "If those guys are here for what I think they are, you're either going to be really confused or ready to kill me. Just, please let them in."

Colleen stared at her daughter, eventually sighing. "Alright," she relented. "I want to know what's going on." She heard the door bell ring and she cleared her throat before opening the door, revealing three tall figures standing there. "How may I help you?"

"Is this the Holt residence?" The tallest man asked, his dark brown eyes trained on Colleen.

"Yes, it is. Who are you exactly?"

"All will be explained once we get inside. The news we are about to give you is confidential and disturbing, so it must all be done inside. Do we have your permission to enter?"

Colleen looked at Pidge, who only frowned and nodded, looking to the side as if she was ashamed. Colleen sighed, turning back to the man with a small frown. "Yes, you can enter," she said, the three figures entering as Colleen moved to the side. Keith and the others looked at the figures curiously, Pidge turning around only when she heard the door close.

The tallest man that had been talking to Colleen spoke up, looking at everyone in the room with a stoic expression. "Afternoon. We are from the Blade of Marmora, a secret spy organization designed to help those who are not in ideal legal positions. My name is Kolivan, the head of the Blade. We have come here to help Katherine Holt in her case against Lotor Sincline, who she has claimed, is planning to bring massive destruction to Altea High School during their prom. Am I correct?" He asked, looking directly at Pidge, who just nodded.

Keith squeezed her hand upon seeing how tense she was, watching Colleen look at her daughter in horror. _It has to be this way._

"Then it is settled. We have gained knowledge that you are in a rather complicated situation, seeing as to how you cannot speak out about the ploy without possibly facing jail time for helping him. We have a plan, but first I would like you to meet my other two partners who are going to be on this case as spies that will help you during school hours so that you will not be accosted in the hallways by anyone who desires to harm you. This is Antok," he said, the slightly shorter man standing next to him nodding as he studied Keith's injured face.

He was slightly shorter than Kolivan, his skin dark. He looked to be of Hispanic descent, his eyes a dark shade brown, almost black. His hair was short, and he looked like he had a muscular frame. He had a cut on his cheek, and he looked to be less serious than Kolivan, albeit only slightly. Keith frowned as he noticed Antok studying his face, taking the ice from Pidge's hand and holding it against the other side of his face.

"Antok is my second in command."

Pidge pouted before turning to look at the woman next to Kolivan curiously. She was shorter than both men, but she wasn't short either. She was taller than both her mom and Keith's mom, and probably both muscular and taller than Keith's dad and her own dad. She was also taller than Matt and Lance. Her eyes were a shade of purple, and her expression seemed to be somewhat stoic, yet slightly surprised as she looked at Pidge and Keith. Her hair was short and curled up at the edges, a dark shade of brown. It looked similar to Keith's own dark hair. Her skin was also the same color as Keith's, albeit a slightly darker shade. Her lips were pinched together, and her black and purple jumpsuit made her look all the more professional. 

"Who's she?" Keith asked, nodding towards the woman. 

Kolivan cleared his throat. "Yes, of course. She is also going to help us on this case. She is one of my best female spies, and she requested to participate in this project when we first heard the case."

"What's her name?" Aiko asked, looking at the woman suspiciously.

"My name," the woman said, pursing her lips, "is Krolia."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Krolia more than I love myself. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	31. I've Got New Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan to defeat Lotor is finally created, and no one is too happy about it. Krolia questions Lance and Matt about Keith, and Pidge has some new rules for Lotor.

Truth. The truth always hurts to hear, no matter how much you say you want to hear it. Hearing the truth can either put you at ease, or it could completely destroy you. For Colleen, knowing the truth of why her daughter had ended her relationship with Lotor felt like a huge slap in the face.

"We're here to help you. We've devised some plans that we hope are useful in this case against Lotor Sincline," Kolivan said, his expression unchanging. "With your permission, we would like to show you what exactly our plans are."

Colleen pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head in disbelief. "No no, I know my daughter. She wouldn't get involved in anything like this," she said, looking up at Pidge. "You wouldn't do something like that. . . Would you?"

Pidge felt a part of her heart break as she heard her mom asking her for the truth, knowing fully well that the response was the last thing her mother wanted to hear. She licked her lips, and looked away from her mother, the guilt not allowing her to look into her eyes. "I'm sorry, mom."

Colleen gasped and glared at her, shaking her head angrily. "Young lady, just what have you been doing?! I trusted you, and even asked you to tell me to tell me what happened after you started acting so different while dating that piece of–"

"I couldn't tell you!" Pidge yelled, looking at her mom with a sad expression. "I couldn't tell you, okay?! I didn't know what was happening! All I know is that I unintentionally got involved and that Lotor is a piece of shit that doesn't know how to quit when I tell him to leave me alone!"

"And you dragged everyone else into this." Colleen said in disbelief as she eyed Keith. "You caused Keith to get hurt?!"

Hurt flashed across her face as she looked at her mom, Keith's eyes widening. "No, it wasn't her fault! I decided to get myself involved knowing the consequences, and now I paid for them. Don't blame her, if wasn't her fault! If there's anyone to blame, it should be me for tempting Lotor with the promposal," he said, glaring at Colleen. "Don't blame Pidge, because she didn't even know half of the shit that was going on with Lotor until he slipped up and let her hear!" He snapped.

Colleen looked at him in shock. "Keith, are you talking back to me?"

"You're blaming Pidge for no reason!" He said, glaring at her. "I get that you're upset because she didn't tell you anything, but it was so that Lotor wouldn't hurt anyone else. Lotor wants her help until prom, and she's said no so much that he's decided to try and scare her into doing his dirty work. Pidge didn't do anything wrong, and I will yell it from the rooftops until you understand that you shouldn't blame her just yet when you don't know the entire story," he said coldly.

Lance frowned. "You know how much I hate to agree with Keith, but he has a point. Pidge didn't know anything that Lotor was planning when she was with him, and he knew that, so he used her for her inside prom knowledge. She didn't know that he was using it to plan his bombing spree! Also, it wasn't Pidge's fault that Keith was jumped by Lotor's people," he said, crossing his arms. "It's mine."

"And how exactly is it your fault?" Colleen demanded, her lips in a thin line.

Lance sighed. "I was the one who pushed Keith into asking Pidge out for prom. In my defense, Lotor asked her out in front of the entire senior student body and she would've felt pressured to say yes, so I think that what I did was completely right and I don't have any regrets," he said, looking at Pidge.

"You're going to have regrets once he beats the shit out of you like he did to Keith," Pidge hissed, running a hand through her hair before turning to look at her mom, frowning. "You can yell at me or disown me, or do whatever you want to, but I don't need you making this worse than it already is. It's my life, and I'm getting older. I made my mistake and now I'm trying to fix it, so please, just let them talk so I can know how exactly I'm supposed to get myself out of this mess."

She turned away from her mom and looked at Kolivan. "You have a plan, right?"

"Yes–"

"Let me get the others," Matt interrupted, walking towards the back. "I think dad and everyone else is going to want to hear this." He walked out the back door, only to walk in a few minutes later with Hunk, Shiro, Allura, and Sam behind him. As soon as Sam saw the three figures in the living room, he frowned.

"Who are they?"

"The Blade of Marmora," Allura gasped, looking at the three figures in shock. "I thought you were supposed to arrive around six in the afternoon!"

"There was a gap in our schedule that allowed us to arrive earlier. By the looks of it, we arrived just on time," Krolia said, looking at Keith.

"Keith!"

"What happened to you?!"

"I'm fine!" Keith snapped, swatting Allura and Shiro's hands away from his face. "It was just some assholes who jumped me, but I'm fine."

"Lotor," Pidge hissed, clenching her fist. "The asshole who grabbed me told me that it was because I accepted Keith's promposal. It's all my fault."

"No, it's not," Keith said, glaring at her. "I told you already, I chose to get involved, and now we're in this together," he said in determination.

"It looks to me like everyone is involved now," Kolivan said, crossing his arms. "Since all of you in this room are going to hear what the plans are to help Katherine out of her predicament, you are going to be sworn to secrecy in order to not endanger the plan."

Everyone nodded, and Kolivan nodded. "Alright. Since this case is the first of its own, we struggled a bit coming up with three plans that are most likely to be successful."

"It's not every day you deal with a bomber," Antok said, his lips in a thin line. "We each came up with a plan that we believe is the best for your case, and it's up to you, Katherine, to choose which one of them you will choose. Not your parents," he said, turning to look at Colleen with a frown, "only you."

Pidge nodded, twiddling her fingers nervously. "Who's going first?"

"I'll start," Kolivan said, stepping forward. "My plan is quite simple. In order for it to work, you would have to let things go on as they are."

"I'm not letting anyone else get hurt because of me," Pidge said in a cold tone, putting a hand on Keith's arm. "Enough people have gotten hurt because of me not doing anything."

"Let me finish," Kolivan snapped, clearing his throat. "As I was saying, we could allow things to go on as they are right now, and once we have a good idea of what his tactics are, we could hypothetically–"

"It's a no from me," Pidge interrupted, glaring up at Kolivan.

"Pardon?"

"I don't like it," Pidge frowned. "If the plan lets Lotor hurt the people around me, then I don't want it. If you other two don't have any plan that actually involves taking action, then I suggest you leave," she said in a cold tone. "No one deserves to get hurt because of me anymore. Enough people already have," she said, looking back at Keith quickly before turning back to Kolivan.

Kolivan sighed. "I'm afraid we aren't going to be much help then. All our plans involve you letting him continue what he's doing so that you do not get involved with him anymore."

"I don't care if I have to go back to him!" She snapped, standing up. "I'd rather go back to him and suffer rather than having my friends and family get hurt because of some jackass who doesn't know how to act like a decent human being!"

Krolia pursed her lips, stepping forward. "Not all of our plans involve you just sitting back and watching more people get hurt. May I, Kolivan?" Upon receiving Kolivan's approval, she stepped into the middle of the room, her gaze passing over Keith. "Based on what you've told us, and what we already know, Lotor Sincline will do anything to get what he wants, correct?"

Pidge nodded. "He wants my help, and I've told him no ever since I found out what he wanted o do."

"Alright. And I'm assuming that he had something to do with what happened to Keith," she said, frowning as she looked at him. "You couldn't fight back?"

Keith raised a brow. "What?"

"The guy that held me back said that Keith was getting beat up because he asked me out to prom, and I'm guessing Lotor didn't like because I rejected his offer in front of everyone. The guy said that he was going to suffer physically and that I would suffer mentally knowing that I caused it," she said, rubbing her arms.

Krolia nodded. "Just as I suspected." She crossed her arms, pacing back and forth, a frown on her face. "See, the entire Sincline family has been under our watch for the past few years because of their destructive behavior. Zarkon is suspected of injuring Alfor, so it's no surprise that his son is taking his father's path of destruction as well."

Allura frowned. "This isn't anything new. What is your actual plan?"

"Lotor will not stop until he gets what he wants, which is Katie's help with planning the bombing. He is willing to do anything to get her back, but he doesn't realize that that could potentially be his downfall."

"How?" Pidge asked.

"He doesn't realize that by now, you could've been planning something else to sabotage his plans," Krolia said, looking at Pidge. "What is he hoping to accomplish by bombing prom?"

"To kill Allura and Coran," Pidge responded, her brows furrowing. "That's been his main plan since the beginning when he asked what the location of prom was going to be at."

"Exactly. With my plan, you would sabotage his plans from the inside, leaving him weak the day of prom. In order to do this, you have to feed him false information that doesn't sound too fake, but has no truth to it either. There is a catch, though," she said, frowning.

Pidge looked down. "Yeah, I know what it is."

Keith looked between Krolia and Pidge, becoming enraged as it clicked. "She is not going back to Lotor! Last time she was with him, he was trying to convince her that his plans were harmless! He tried to hurt her!"

Krolia shot him a glare. "I understand that you care about your girlfriend, but unless you have a better plan, then I suggest for you to shut up and listen to me."

"Pidge is not going back to Lotor," Lance said, putting a hand on Pidge's shoulder. "She's gone through hell with him, so what do you think he'll do now? I care about Allura and Coran's well being, but this is a huge no-no to me!"

"Lance, this isn't about you," Shiro said sharply, successfully shutting Lance up. "This is about Pidge. It's her in decision on wether or not to accept this plan as the one we're going to use to strike back at Lotor with."

Keith scowled. "But Shiro, you can't seriously agree with this! This is Lotor, for fucks sake! He's the one who basically turned her into this shut off, bitchy person who had a mental breakdown because of him! I'm not her, but I don't want her to be anywhere near that son of a bitch anymore."

Krolia frowned. "The decision is not yours to make."

"Who do you think you are? My mother? I will say what I want to say–"

"Keith, shut up," Pidge interrupted sharply, glaring at him from the corner of her eye. He did as she asked, looking at her in surprise. "I'm going with this plan."

"No!"

"Yes, I am! This is the only plan that might actually work, and it's the only plan that will prevent Lotor from pulling more bullshit than he already is." She watched Keith glare at her, sighing and putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're worried about my wellbeing, and thank you for being so worried, but I can't always have you making decisions for me. Enough people have been hurt because of me, and I don't want anybody else to get hurt. The sooner I tell Lotor I'll help him, the better for all of us."

Keith shook his head and turned his body away from her, turning towards Aiko. Pidge felt a pang in her heart as she saw him turn away, slowly retracting her hand from his shoulder and holding it against her chest. Clenching her fist, she turned towards Krolia with a determined look. "I'm doing it. When do we start?"

"The earlier the better."

Pidge took a deep breath, looking at her with a small frown. "So today?"

"If you feel comfortable enough with doing so," Krolia said, looking into her eyes.

Keith's brows twitched and he clenched his teeth, glaring at Krolia. "Comfortable enough? Comfortable enough?! Why are you talking about something being 'comfortable' when you don't even give us a plan that we're all comfortable with?! None of us here want her to go back to Lotor, but that's the first thing you say even though you know how dangerous that entire family line is!" He turned towards Pidge and scowled.

"If you want to do it, then I can't stop you, but you're being a real dumbass for going back to someone who is only going to keep hurting you."

"I already did that when I forgave you, apparently," she spat out, Keith glaring at her before getting up and storming upstairs, leaving everyone in shock and confusion. Pidge watched him leave with a sad expression, feeling her heart break just a little bit more as she realized what she had told him. _After all this time, we never learn._

"I'm sorry, Keith," she whispered under her breath before turning towards Krolia, taking a deep breath. "I think that today is the best day to talk to Lotor."

Matt frowned. "Pidge, I'm not one hundred percent on board with this, but it's your choice and I respect it." He day down next to her, putting an arm around her neck. "I think going to Lotor today would be a good idea since he did just send his goons after you. He would think that it finally pushed you into giving in when you're really using him."

"How the tables have turned," Allura murmured, pursing her lips. "Pidge, I can give you a ride if you want."

"No," Pidge said quickly, cutting Allura off. "If Lotor sees that I'm there with you, he's going to suspect that something's up. He's a jackass, not a dumbass. It's almost impossible to get around him," she admitted, crossing her arms. "If I go, I'm going alone. It'll be more effective that way."

"But how are you going to get there?" Lance asked, frowning. "You can't exactly fly."

"She can walk," Hunk said, shrugging. "She has legs, you know."

"But his house is like a half hour drive from here!"

"How do you know where Lotor lives?" Pidge inquired suspiciously, squinting her eyes. "You've never been to his house."

"Lucky guess?"

Pidge sent the two one last final look before sighing and looking away, shaking her head. "Never mind! Krolia, what exactly is the plan once I get to Lotor? I can't just beg for him to take me back."

"Once you reach his location, you'll talk to him about how you're giving into his plan and how you'll help him achieve what he wants. You have everything planned out for prom, don't you?"

"Not everything," Pidge confesses, scratching her neck. "There's still some issues that need to be fixed out."

Krolia hummed. "But he doesn't know that, does he?"

Pidge nodded. "He has no inside knowledge now that I'm not telling him anything. Everything in his plan is based off of old information."

"You'll convince him by telling him another detail about prom that isn't exactly the truth if he's stubborn, and we'll go on from there."

"So we're faking it until we make it," Lance said, raising a brow. "Not the proudest way to go out, but eh."

"Nobody is dying," Shiro sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And if anybody were to die, it would be me first. My life is stressful."

"Welcome to life, want some beer?" Matt joked, snorting as Shiro sent him a tired look. "I'm joining." He patted Pidge's back, sending his sister a small smile. "I'm not joking when I say that you should talk to that boyfriend of yours, though," he said seriously, glancing upstairs. "We don't want a remake of November."

Pidge sighed, running a hand through her hair. "First of all, not my boyfriend. Secondly," she paused, looking at Krolia with a tired expression, "I need to know if we're done here before I try to talk to Keith."

Krolia nodded. "We will leave once we receive confirmation that you have successfully rejoined Lotor."

"I'll make some tea," Colleen said offhandedly, sending her daughter a small frown. "Katie, a word?"

Matt and Pidge exchanged looks before she took a deep breath and stood up, following her mom into the living room while Sam invited Kolivan, Anton and Krolia to take a seat. Pidge stuck her hands into the pockets of her sweater, leaning against the counter nervously as she watched her mom take the teacups out from the cupboard.

Pidge looked down at the tiles of the kitchen floor, sighing. "Just spit it out, mom."

"Katie, why didn't you tell me anything was going on?! I'm your mother, for crying out loud! You're supposed to come to me when you're in bad situations. We could've done something to help you!"

"You would've gone to the police and I would be in jail right now," Pidge immediately responded, frowning and walking towards her mom, holding the woman's hands in her own. "Mom, I love you, but there are some things that I just can't tell you. It's not because I don't trust you, it's just that I need to do what I think is best in situations like this. Lotor was a mistake and I learned, but now I'm trying to fix what I've done before it's too late."

"I know you are, but that's what worries me. You act like you're all alone in the world, but you're not! Katie, let me help you," Colleen urged, grasping the girls hands. "If Lotor has hurt you, then I don't feel comfortable enough with letting you go back to him. If he's caused you pain, then you can't let him hurt you anymore. It's just not right!"

"But what about the pain he's going to cause everyone else?" Pidge interrupted, frowning. "Lotor promised hell and he knows that I care a lot about Keith, so he logically went after him first. He knows everyone I hang out with, and he's dangerous! I can't have anymore people be put at risk of being hurt because of Lotor and my decision to not help him. He's made his point, and I hate to give in, but he hurt Keith. Nobody hurts Keith and gets away with it," she said darkly.

Colleen frowned. "So this is about Keith then?"

Pidge stopped frowning and a look of surprise took over her features, her eyes wide. "What? No! When I say that, I mean that Keith has been hurt enough and that I don't want him or anyone else being hurt because of me. I don't want Lotor to keep taking away parts of me and to ruin my life just when things are starting to look up. I need to do this mom, and I need you to understand and support me," she pleaded. "I need to know that you're with me."

Colleen looked at her daughter for a moment before sighing, pulling her into a hug. Pidge wrapped her arms around her mom, allowing her mom to run her hands through her hair. "I'm with you," Colleen said softly, pressing a soft kiss to Pidge's head. "I just want to be on the same page."

Pidge nodded, letting go of her mom and sending her a small smile. "Thank you." Glancing upstairs, she sighed. "I guess I should check up on Keith now. He's so–"

"Gorgeous? Amazing? Boyfriend material?" Colleen teased, attempting to lighten the mood. She chuckled as she watched Pidge send her a tired expression, smiling. "I'm joking, Katie. But yes, please talk to him. If I know Keith, he feels like I do about you going back to Lotor."

"I was going to say that that he's stubborn," Pidge said, rolling her eyes. "I'm not denying what you said, but I'm not confirming it either. I just need to talk to him instead of ignoring him again."

"Ah, you finally learned."

"Please shut up," Pidge laughed lightly, shaking her head. She sighed and cracked her knuckles, glancing back at her mom before making her way through the living room and up the stairs, knowing fully well where Keith was going to be.

She walked towards her room and pushed the door open, slipping inside quickly and pushing the door shut quietly. She spotted Keith sitting on the window seat that faced his bedroom, one leg stretched out in front of him and the other bent up, his body twisting to face the window. She took a deep breath before walking towards him, sitting on the edge of her bed and watching him. After a few brief moments of silence, she spoke up.

"Why are you just staring at your room?"

"I miss my bed."

"Why?"

"I'm sleep deprived. Haven't had a good night's sleep since I was in the womb," he joked, not looking at her.

"Relatable," Pidge said, crossing her legs in front of her. "So uh, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

She cleared her throat, suddenly feeling awkward. "Why are you so against me going back to Lotor?"

Keith scoffed. "You're really asking me that? Pidge, the guy has done nothing but hurt you. He's been putting ideas into your head and changing you into someone you're not, and you don't need that in your life. You're perfect the way you are, without Lotor and without anything you learned from his girl squad. I don't know why you're so willing to go back to an asshole who only likes to manipulate you," he ended, turning to look at her. "You don't deserve more pain."

Pidge stared at him with a shocked expression, her lips in a slight pout. "I'm doing what's right, Keith. I don't want anyone else to be hurt because of me, and I also want Lotor to be gone. Like really far away. As in, on the other side of the Milky Way," she said, crossing her arms.

"I know you aren't going to support my decision, but I want you to understand that it's my decision and it's the one I feel will make the most sense in the long run. You got hurt today because of me, and if Lotor tried to hurt you again, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I made it happen."

Keith sighed, running a hand through his hair and staring at the ceiling. "I just don't want you getting hurt. I care about you too much to see you be hurt by a decision that you made. You don't have to be the hero," he said softly, slowly turning his head to face her. "We can deal with whatever bullshit Lotor wants to throw at us. We can fight back! I would fight Lotor any time of day if it meant that you would've have to deal with him anymore."

"Lotor isn't your average schoolyard bully, Keith. He's the type of guy who will fight to get what he wants, and he won't give up until he gets it. You getting beat up was enough to push me to the edge, and I just want you to understand that I have to do this. I want to do this. I'm putting the people I love before my own needs for once in my life, and I know what I'm getting myself into. Lotor broke me once," she said, walking towards Keith and placing a hand on his shoulder, "but I'll never let him break me again. I'm over his manipulation and his bullshit. I'm doing this for the greater good."

Keith sighed. "You could just let me handle him."

"Yeah, no. If you can't take down a pair of goons, then you can't take Lotor down." She bit her lip, looking to the side with a flushed face. "Oh, and back in the alley, you called out my actual name. What was that about?"

Keith blinked, scrunching his brows, recalling how he had yelled out her actual name when he realized that the goons had her. "Oh, that. I was worried," he said, not meeting her eyes. "I lost my senses when I realized that you were in danger, and I guess I want into full panic mode that I didn't realize that I said your real name instead of your nickname." He paused, nervously tugging on the collar of his shirt. "I'm sorry if it offended you," he added on quickly,

Pidge shook her head. "No no, you didn't offend me. It's just that–" She paused, tugging on the necklace around her neck nervously as she looked at Keith. "It's just that you haven't called me that since we were kids, back when the whole Shiro and Matt thing happened."

Keith let out a soft chuckle, his lips quirking up into a small smile. "Yeah." His expression quickly turned sour as Matt pushed the door open, Krolia and Shiro standing behind him with stoic expressions. Pidge quickly turned around, frowning as she spotted Matt.

"Why are you three staring at me?"

"We were thinking that we could drop you off–"

"You're too late," Keith immediately interrupted, getting up and crossing his arms. "I'm taking her on my bike. Come on Pidge." He took her hand in his own, dragging her down the stairs and out the Holt residence, not ever bothering to look back. Pidge stumbled after him, the two eventually stopping as they entered Keith's garage.

The garage was full of stray, spare car and motorcycle parts, different pictures of bikes on the walls, and a drum set in one corner, looking very out of place in its corner. Under a wooden table, a crate full of old journals was neatly tucked away, full of motorcycle designs which Keith had drawn for over five years. Pidge looked at him curiously, leaning against one of the shelves that contained buckets of paint.

"What are you looking for?"

"An extra helmet for you."

"I'm a big girl, I can ride without one."

"Your lack of concern over your wellbeing concerns me," Keith said incredulously, pausing his search to look up at her. "You need a helmet."

"Well if you don't have an extra helmet then I guess I'll just go without one." She shrugged. "I've done worse."

"Aha! Found one!" He dusted the helmet off, revealing the green designs that looked like they were crafted by the gods themselves, all carefully drawn on and perfect. His eyes widened and he smiled fondly, handing it to Pidge. "I drew the designs back when I started fixing up my bike two years ago."

"Why is it green?"

"I always planned for you to be the first one to ride my bike with me when it was finally done. The bike's been done for a while, but I've never gotten a chance to take it out for a spin. I just wish we were doing it under better circumstances," he said, rubbing his neck. Pidge only smiled and shook her head, placing the helmet over her head.

"Well it feels good so looks like the mission is a go, Captain Emo." She frowned, tapping her foot nervously on the ground. "We should probably go before I change my mind."

Keith pursed his lips, brows furrowing. "Right." He ripped off the tarp covering his bike, sitting down on the seat of his bike, inviting Pidge to sit behind him.

"It actually looks really nice," Pidge said, impressed with the bike as she ran her hands over the back.

"It'd be more impressive if we made it to Lotor's before it gets dark," Keith said dryly. "Get on. I promise you I won't suddenly drive out of the garage."

The girl looked at him briefly before hesitantly taking a seat behind him, wrapping her arms around his torso. Keith glanced back at her before staring the bike up, smirking as he sped out the garage without warning, Pidge letting out a scream as she clung on more tightly to him.

"Keith fucking Kogane I'm going to fucking strangle you, you piece of shit!"

Keith only laughed in response as he drove down their street, Pidge eventually shutting up and releasing Keith from the death grip that she had entrapped him in. She felt the wind blowing on her bare neck and small, loose strands of hair fluttering behind her as they made their away down the street.

"Why didn't you just bring your bike when we went shopping?!"

"I didn't want our first ride together to be to the grocery shop!"

"Fair point!"

They rode away from the Holt residence, neither of them looking back as they tore around the street corner and out of sight, leaving Krolia, Lance and Matt to stand alone in front of the Holt residence as they watched the two drive out of sight. Lance shook his head.

"I can't believe Keith is going with her to talk to Lotor. He's going to mess the entire thing up!"

"Maybe not," Matt intervened, ignoring Lance's incredulous look. "If Lotor sees how beat up Keith actually is, then he'll think that Pidge was sent over the edge by that and that she's coming from a genuine place. Keith knows what he's doing."

"Either that or he's being impulsive," Lance snorted. 

Krolia pursed her lips, turning around to face the two boys, suddenly interested in their conversation. "He's impulsive?"

"The most impulsive person you'll ever meet," Lance replied immediately, scoffing. "He's a hot head. If we were in some intergalactic war where Voltron was a reality, he'd shoot first and ask questions later, right Matt?"

"Voltron isn't real, but you do have a point." He looked up to face Krolia, a small smile on his face. "He's not wrong. Keith is impulsive, but he's also caring. His emotions sometimes get in the way of his judgement. He's a good kid though, and he cares a lot about the people close to him, like my sister."

"Are they dating?"

Lance and Matt both looked at each other before bursting out laughing, leaving Krolia to look at them in confusion. "What?"

"Lady, if they were dating then that would be a huge miracle. We've spent four years watching them crush on each other and do nothing about it!" Lance shrieked, throwing his hands up and shaking his head. "It feels like I'm in some kind of story with a two hundred thousand slow burn romance with how much drama has been going on."

Matt sighed. "Those two have been best friends and neighbors forever, but they won't date and it's honestly really frustrating."

"The sexual tension is the worst."

Krolia only stared at them before nodding slowly, proceeding to walk inside the Holt residence. "Interesting."

Lance sent her a suspicious look, crossing his arms. "Hey, why are you asking anyways?"

She stared at him with a mysterious expression, as if she was looking through him rather then at him. After a long while, she finally spoke up. "Curiosity." She then walked inside, leaving Matt and Lance to look curiously after her.

"What's her problem?" Hunk asked as he walked out to meet them.

He was only met with shrugs.

* * *

Keith slowed down to a stop at the corner of the Sincline property, Pidge looking at him in confusion. "Why are you stopping here?"

"Lotor is going to know that I know about his plan if I go down there with you. My journey ends here, but I'll be waiting for you when you come back."

"First of all, stop talking like you just got shot," she said impatiently, crossing her arms. "Secondly, Lotor already knows that you know. If he sees just how badly you were hurt, then he's going to think that I'm sincere when I tell him that I'm going help him," she finished, looking at Keith. "I can't do this without your help."

Keith sighed, starting his bike up again. "Fine. Hold on." He drove into the driveway, finally getting off of his bike as they came to a stop. He took his helmet off and left it on one of the handlebars, Pidge doing the same on the opposite side. She shielded her eyes from the sun's glare as she looked up at Lotor's house, taking it in as if she were seeing it for the first time. Something akin to fear ran through her veins as she glanced at the balcony, the one that had started this whole mess.

You idiot. If you had just told Keith how you felt you wouldn't be in this situation. She let out a sigh, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in. The entire order was making her nervous, and she hated it. She was doing this for Altea and her loved ones. It was overwhelming to think of how much was being put on her shoulders.

Keith looked down at her in concern, placing an arm on her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

She looked up at him briefly, seeing how concerned he was. Something snapped inside her as she looked away from him and closed her eyes. _I don't want anyone to feel concerned about me and my decisions. I'm tired of everyone thinking that I'm going to break by going back to him. I'm tired of Lotor making me feel bad about myself. It's time to take that motherfucker down._ Pidge took a deep breath in, opening her eyes and glaring at the house in front of her. "Perfect," she growled, a sudden wave of hatred washing over her as she made her way up the front stairs and knocked on the door, Keith jogging to catch up with her. 

"Pidge?"

She only glanced at him before ringing the doorbell repeatedly, crossing her arms. "Don't be a pussy and open the fucking door, Lotor!" She yelled, glaring at the door. She looked down at the doorknob as it turned, Pidge coming face to face with Ezor. 

Ezor's eyes widened as she spotted Pidge, frowning. "What are you doing here?!" She whisper-yelled, looking behind her as she closed the door. "You can't—"

"Where's Lotor?" Pidge growled, glaring at Ezor. "I came to talk to him, not you. Lotor, come out!"

"Take her away before he gets here!"

"We aren't leaving until she talks to him, so you might as well step aside and let her talk to him," Keith said darkly, glaring at her and crossing his arms. 

"Ezor, is that Katie?" Came a familiar voice from the other side of the door, Keith's glare hardening and Pidge's fists clenching at her sides. "Step aside."

Ezor sent Pidge one final look before stepping to the side, revealing Lotor. He stood in front of Pidge and Keith, his arms crossed across his chest as he looked down at both of them with a frown. He was dressed in a formal purple shirt and dark blue skinny jeans, his black boots making him look taller than usual. The three stared at each other, no one saying anything.

Lotor raised a brow, shaking his head and tossing his stray strand of hair to one side. "Why are you here? Did you just come here to mock me about my failed attempt at asking you to come to prom with me?"

Pidge glared up at him, crossing her arms. "No. I'm here to tell you that you're a huge jackass that doesn't know when to quit. I know you were the one who sent those goons after Keith, Lotor! He got beat up by your puppets, and I'm not going to stand for that shit."

"What's your point?" Lotor asked lazily, looking down at Pidge with a smirk. "You're the only one to blame here for all the pain that was inflicted upon Keith. I told you that you were going to regret not helping me."

"That's why I'm here," Pidge said in a low voice, staring coldly at him. "I've made up my mind."

"Oh? And you aren't going to help me, I presume?"

"No. I'm going to help you," Pidge said with finality, watching Lotor's expression change quickly to that of surprise. 

"What kind of trick is this?" Lotor inquired suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. "You take me for a fool? I know you're up to something, Katie."

"The only thing I'm up to is my wits end, you bitch. You hurt Keith, and that was enough to push me to the edge. I'm helping you, but not for you. I'm doing it to protect those I love." She scowled as she saw Lotor smirk, putting a hand up. "First, lets get one thing clear."

"Speak."

"Before we confirm this, let me tell you one thing. I've got new rules this time around, and you either comply to them and get my help, or you disobey them and loose my help," she snarled, taking a hold of his shirt and bringing him down to her eye level. "Listen closely, and don't forget them because I won't repeat them."

"You are not going to lay a single finger on any of my family member or friends. This is just between me and you, and we are not dragging anyone else into this fight. If I see that anyone, and I mean _anyone_ , else get hurt during these next few weeks leading up to prom, I'm immediately going to stop helping you."

"That can be arranged."

"I'm not finished, so shut the fuck up!" She snapped, glaring at him. "You also aren't allowed to toy with me anymore. I know you're manipulative, but I'm setting a boundary right now. You don't touch me, you don't look at me, and you don't try to intervene with my friendships ever again. You don't talk to me during school, and you don't try to hook up with me ever again. Our relationship was a mistake, and I am not going to date you ever again."

"What a pity. I did like you at one point, you know." Lotor frowned.

"Once in your past life apparently, because you obviously only used me during our entire relationship. I'm sick and tired of being used and manipulated by you, and I am not going to let myself feel inferior because of you. I've got new rules this round, and you have to obey them. It's really simple, you know. Oh, and one more thing." She pulled him closer to her face, Lotor's nose centimeters away from her own. "I am not staying with you after this whole thing is over, so get rid of that idea. I'm doing this for my family and loved ones, so don't get any ideas that I actually want to help you. As soon as the whole thing is over, you stay out of my sight forever. I never want to see your fucking face ever again after this is over. Are we clear?" She hissed, Lotor nodding.

She let him go, watching him stumble slightly as she stood up straight, glaring at him and the girls behind him. "We play by my rules now."

Lotor furrowed his brows, crossing his arms as he also straightened up. "Is that all?"

Pidge put her hands on her hips, taking a step forward and glaring up at him. "Yes. Oh, don't worry. I'll make sure that you abide by them."

"You've changed."

"I'm not going to allow myself to be bossed around by anyone, especially you," she spat out, sticking a finger up in his face. "I've changed, and for the better. Don't fucking test me, because you're not the only one with help from outsiders."

"I wouldn't dare break your rules," Lotor mocked, stepping to the side. "Come in. We have much to discuss."

Pidge glared at him one last time before walking inside, sending Keith one last glance before following Acxa into the dining room. Lotor stayed behind, watching her go before turning to face Keith, raising a brow. "Isn't she quite the gem."

Keith glared at him, pointing to his face. "You fucked up my face!"

"You were merely scratched. I bet you weren't complaining when she rushed to aid you and cradled you in her arms," Lotor said scornfully, crossing his arms. 

"How do you–"

"I have eyes everywhere, Keith. You can try to run, but you'll never get rid of me. Even the trees have eyes when I'm around."

"I could've died! You sent huge fucking baboons after me!"

"Trust me, the only reason you aren't actually in a hospital is because you're related to Acxa," Lotor spat out, glaring back at him. "Katie isn't the only one with new rules. You stay far away from this mess. Don't get involved. You were merely beaten up this time, but if you try to intervene in any way, you won't be so lucky."

Keith scoffed. "Now I know why Pidge broke up with you. You're a manipulative bitch."

"Careful Kogane," Lotor warned. "Sometimes by speaking too much, you find trouble on your own."

"Oh shut the fuck up you manipulative cunt," Keith said tiredly. "Your voice is getting really annoying."

"You're saying manipulative as if I didn't know I am. Trust me, I know. But you don't need to worry about how I take care of my issues. Focus on staying alive and not getting killed," Lotor said with finality. "Go home, Keith. I'll take her home later."

"I don't trust you at all," Keith hissed.

"I didn't say you had to. Go home, Keith," he said once more, closing the door before having it pushed open again, Keith slamming Lotor against the wall aggressively, sticking a knife in his face.

"You hurt her in any way and they won't find your body," he threatened, sticking the knife closer to his face. "Don't touch her, don't treat her like your toy. Play by her rules, and don't fuck up even more than you already have. She's helping you and putting her own life in danger, so be thankful she has a big heart and cares about everyone enough to come running back to you, the same bitch who hurt her. Her rules have consequences if they're broken, just like yours," he hissed.

"Quite the impulsive one, aren't you? It was her choice to come back. Be thankful she cares about you, and don't threaten the very one who has her entire life in his hands," Lotor spat out, smirking as Keith let go of his shirt and walked out of the house, sticking his pocket knife back into his back pocket.

He slammed the door behind him, standing still on the porch as he heard Lotor's footsteps fade away into silence. He let out a deep breath, glancing back at the closed door, a frown appearing on his face. He closed his eyes, shaking his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. 

_What the hell have we just gotten ourselves into?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been delaying writing the ending of this story for the past week my bad. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	32. No One Can Rewrite The Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prom is right around the corner, and Pidge is struggling to make sure that her sanity is in check. She and Lotor have a deep conversation where he says something that she believes is impossible, and Keith really wants to rewrite the stars with her.

May. May is the month when most students start anticipating that glorious summer vacation, counting the days left until finals are finally over. Before finals, however, came prom. Prom was scheduled to be the on the twenty sixth of May this year, and the prom committee was a mess. Well, Pidge was a mess, anyways. 

There were still some students who were waiting until last minute to reserve a seat for prom, and it was driving her crazy. On top of that, the theme had finally been settled and she was disappointed, although not surprised, that the prom colors were not the LGBTQ ones. Most of the committee was bummed about it, but they had no time to mourn as they quickly scrambled to find the needed colors. The catering service had already been organized, much to their relief, and so had the issue of the music and the various booths that were going to be placed throughout the hall. Prom was looking pretty good, except for the one small detail called Lotor.

Over the span of two weeks, she had had to feed him false information about various prom events. The day she had gone to his house and gave into his demands, he had suck every bit of information about prom out of her brain. Little did he know that most of it was fake. He had asked for too many important details and she had answered them to the 'best' of her ability, although it was pretty obvious to her that she was lying through her teeth. However, Lotor didn't care. He was desperately trying to form his plan, and her not being around for a month had delayed his plan, apparently.

Seeing him so desperate had made her want to laugh, but she had kept her laugher hidden in fear that he would notice that something was up. Over the next two weeks, she had made various trips with him to the South Side of Altea where most Galra lived in, and she had realized just how bad the area was in terms of violence and drug abuse. Most of the people there looked like they were on steroids and were wrestling champions. There was almost always a fight in the alleyways every time she went there with Lotor. 

Today was no different.

She let her head fall onto her knuckles, looking briefly out the window before shooting Lotor a quick look. She sighed, watching in hidden amusement as Lotor's brows twitched, causing her to sigh more louder the second time. He shot her a quick look before turning his attention back to the road, ignoring the looks that the people were sending him as he drove through the narrow streets. Pidge only rolled her eyes in annoyance, sighing for a third time, Lotor finally grunted in annoyance and turned his head around to face her.

"Why are you sighing so loudly?"

"It's Friday afternoon, and you've dragged me out here instead of giving me one day to breathe. I don't want to be here. This is what, the fourth time we've been here this week?" She crossed her arms, letting her head fall against the window. "I'm bored and hungry. I'd rather be dress shopping than sitting here with you."

"You've said every day for the past three days. Don' you have anything new to say?" He said gruffly, turning his attention back to the road. "Anyways, you were the one who agreed to help me. There's really no one else to blame except yourself, but yes, go off and say that I'm dragging you around."

"Hey, we were clear on that!" Pidge snapped, turning to face Lotor with a scowl. "I'm doing this–"

"Yes yes, your family. Believe me, I am painfully aware that you're doing this because of how much you care about your family and friends," Lotor muttered, pursing his lips. "It must be nice knowing that your family member would go to the end of the earth for you and do anything to keep you safe. I wouldn't know of such things–" 

"Okay I get it, you have mommy and daddy issues, but I literally do not care," Pidge interrupted, letting her head fall onto her knuckles again. "Believe me, everyone knows about how much your father hates you and how your mother doesn't even believe that you're her child. I've seen it and know it's true, but you don't have to bring it up every single damn time we're in the car."

"This is why I don't trust anyone," Lotor sighed, rolling his eyes. "I should not expect the privileged to understand why I'm the way I am."

"Are you calling me privileged?" Pidge's eyebrows shot up in indignation. "I am not privileged!"

"Are too."

"How the hell am I privileged?!"

"Let's see, you go to Altea High, you get the love of your parents, you look down upon the Galra because you've been around the rich for your entire life, you live in the better part of Altea, and you just got accepted to Altea University. You are very privileged, and you don't know it."

"That's called having a normal life, Lotor. That's literally all it is!"

"You never have to walk around Altea in shame because of your family name," Lotor hissed. "You don't have to be ashamed of who you are, you weren't verbally abused when you were a child, you had everything I didn't. I envy Allura for having a childhood that was spent with a caring father. She was not affected when our father's split companies, but I was. My father beat me, my father took out all his anger on me. You're privileged, not only because of where you live, but because you got a life that most Galra, I included, did not receive." He closed his eyes briefly before staring at the road, Pidge sitting in silence as she glared out the window. 

"I'm sorry," he said after a while silence, Pidge refusing to look at him. "I let my anger get the best of me once again."

"Like that's a surprise," Pidge scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Your entire personality is two sided. One minute you're trying to be nice and caring, and the next you're being manipulative and crazy. I don't understand you."

"No one does." He finally turned off the road into a driveway, Pidge's eyes closing as he turned the car off. "Come along, Katie. I need help getting these devices into the car."

Pidge groaned, unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car. She stretched her arms out in front of her, her sleeves riding up her arms as she did so. She shook her head, walking behind Lotor with a bored expression. She sighed as Lotor turned the knob, not even bothering to ring the doorbell. The two walked inside, Lotor putting a hand out to stop her from walking as they reached the dining room. 

Pidge's brows shot up as she saw different types of bombs on the dining room table, the window curtains closed, and spare parts of wires and batteries on the chairs. A tall figure walked out of the kitchen, his arms crossed and his expression serious. Pidge immediately looked up at him and furrowed her brows, the man doing the same. She nodded and pushed Lotor's hand down, pretending to be irritated with him. "Don't tell me when to stop walking."

"Stop being so immature," Lotor shot back, turning to face the man with an apologetic look. "My apologies, Thace. She does not know how to act in public."

"The Alteans never know how to act in public," Thace replied, crossing his arms and walking towards the table slowly, pulling out a crate from under it. "Your package is finally ready. The last of the small ones were completed today, and everything is in the crate."

"They won't go off until we set a timer, right?"

"Of course. They're very explosive, and quite the show stopping spectacular."

Lotor grinned. "That's just perfect."

"Since your package is completed, I am assuming that you aren't going to be around Altea anytime soon," Thace mused. "It would be quite the stupid decision to stay after murdering two of Altea's most well loved people."

"It's for a good cause," Lotor said defensively. "Imagine a world where the Galra are finally living like the rich and not fighting constantly. They would be receiving what they need and what they desire once I take control of Altea."

"I wouldn't dream of it being otherwise," Thace said indifferently, Lotor nodding.

"Katie, wait inside while I get this crate inside the car. Make sure I get everything and don't drop anything."

She only rolled her eyes and followed Lotor as he picked up the crate, shooting Thace a look as the two made their way through the dining room door. Lotor quickened his pace and walked out of the house, leaving Pidge and Thace alone. She quickly glanced up at him, making sure that Lotor wasn't able to hear them. "You received a visit from Keith, didn't you?"

"Yes. He made sure to warn me that Lotor was going to make his surprise appearance and that the decoys had to be finished by the afternoon. I managed to finish them up an hour ago, but he's not blowing anyone up anytime soon."

"They're as fake as Lotor himself," Pidge mused, watching as Lotor closed the trunk. "Krolia is going to be in touch soon. Don't die," she joked, walking down the front steps and sliding into the passenger seat next to Lotor.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Thace murmured as he walked inside, shutting the door behind him.

Lotor started the car up and drove out of the driveway onto the narrow roads, driving for ten minutes before finally connecting to the highway. They drove in silence for five more minutes before Pidge started sighing again, this time to purposely annoy Lotor. He immediately swirled his head around to face her, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. 

"What is it now?!"

"I'm really fucking bored and tired of this. You keep leaving me in the dark about your exchanges with different people!"

"You saw everything I did today. I did not leave you 'in the dark' like you so boisterously claim."

"Stop lying," she snapped, crossing her arms. "Yesterday, you got a crate full of something and I may not be an expert in bombing, but I'm sure you don't need more than ten bombs, which is way more that are in the crate we just got. What the hell was in the other crate yesterday?" She demanded, glaring up at him. "Answer me!"

"It's none of your concern," Lotor said tightly, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "It amuses me seeing you so worked up over nothing. You didn't complain this much about being left in the dark during our relationship." 

"Oh for fucks sake, forget about the relationship! It was nothing but bullshit, and you know that as well as I do that you were only dating me to use me."

Lotor clicked his tongue in his mouth, his lips forming a thin line. "I told that you that I did like you once."

"Once in another lifetime apparently, because you refused to even do anything that would make us look like a couple. While we were dating, I felt like we were your parents. I didn't know why you treated me like that, but when I finally learned I felt so fucking stupid," she spat out, turning her head around to glare at Lotor. "Do you know how fucking miserable I was? I thought that someone had finally taken notice of me because of my personality and who I was, but you just used me like everyone else." She quickly rubbed a hand over her nose, frowning as she turned around to face him once more. "If you really did like me once, what the hell did you see in me?"

Lotor sighed. "When I first transferred to Altea High, my intentions had been much different than they are now. They were to gain information about Coran and Allura, which was rather easy since they were always around the school. That was all I really cared about until I met you during English. When we worked together for our English project, I knew right away that you did not like me at all. Why would you? I was Galra, and you had probably heard things about me from your friends who I met during summer camp."

"When we worked together, you stopped hating me so much after you realized that I actually put effort into our project. It was your acceptance that made me feel loved and wanted. Seeing you almost everyday made me strangely happy, and your intellect and personality were attractive. I fell for your personality and willingness to not judge a book by its cover."

"Yet you used my personality against me and dated me just to get inside information," Pidge said coldly. "I don't believe anything you're saying."

"My jealousy of your bond with Keith was what prompted me to ask you to date me. I had been the one to come between you two, and it made me feel like I was a god when you kept saying that I wasn't who they thought I was. It almost made me want to change my ways, and to end my plans which had by then escalated."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I know that I'm manipulative. It's been my nature since I've been a child, and it's something I don't take pride in. Hearing you say that I wasn't like that made me want to believe it, but I knew that I couldn't just change. I've spent my entire life being put down by my parents, and being manipulative was a defense mechanism that I didn't even realize I was abusing. I don't like it, and I don't like being who I am, but it is how it is." He frowned. "I've tried, but it's not up to me. The world only sees me as being manipulative, and if that's how they see me then I have no choice but to conform to what they believe."

Pidge pursed her lips. "Why don't you try?"

"I have, and to no avail. The world does not like me, and only sees me for one part of my personality. I don't like it, and I realize that I'm doing it, but I can't do anything about it. You can go ahead and think that I'm making this story up, but thats alright, because everyone thinks that all I say is fake."

Pidge sat in silence for a moment, frowning before speaking up. "You're a guy with some issues, and I understand that, but how is bombing prom and ruining the life of more than a hundred students going to fix any of that? Everyone is only going to hate you more than they do already."

"Allura got the life I always wanted. She got a father who loved her, who was supportive, and I always envied her. She was the first one to turn on me, even though she knew that she was the only real friend I had. She used to help me when my father went into his violent fits of rage, and she just left me for her father when the accident happened. Want to know the truth? My father really did try to kill Alfor that night, but he did not succeed. Neither Honerva and I knew that he would go that far, and it is something I am deeply ashamed of."

"This isn't really about the company," she said softly, furrowing her brows. "This is all about Allura." 

Lotor's frowned deepened. "For someone who is at least five years older than me and who was basically my best friend when I was younger, she left me quickly and never though of how my father's actions weren't mine."

"Striking back at Allura isn't going fix your problems, Lotor. None of what you're doing is going to fix it because you might feel like the king of the world at first, but the guilt is going to eat you alive later on. Violence is never the answer to your problems." She placed a hand on his arm, shaking her head. "I don't trust you for my life, but if what you're saying is true then it seems to me that you're just really confused on who you are. Are you really going to keep being who everyone expects you to be? Or are you going to change for the better and surprise everyone?"

Lotor pursed his lips. "It's far too late for me to turn back. I'm not the only one that's going to be at Altea University on prom night, and I've put too much effort into this to just let it fall flat. I appreciate you trying to understand me, but I am too far gone. I am badly damaged, and as much as I may want to change, I simply cant."

"But you need to know when enough is enough–"

"Nothing is ever enough for me! Towers of gold are too little, and I'm surrounded by them everywhere I look. My hands could hold the world but it would never be enough for me, because I don't want the world if I can't even trust people around me because I know that they are going to turn on me for seeing me as I am now. It would never be enough, Pidge."

Pidge let go of his arm and sat back, looking out the window glumly as she let his words run through her mind. Hearing Lotor explain himself suddenly made things so much easier for her to understood, and as much as she hated him for everything that he had done, she knew that she would have sympathy for him if he wasn't killing her friends. She sighed.

"What's on your mind now?"

"Do you think our relationship would've worked out if you weren't who you are?" she asked quietly, Lotor taking a deep breath. "Sorry if that offended you by that way."

"I think that if we were in an alternate reality that we could've had a slight chance of making things work out. We would have to rewrite the stars to make it work in this reality, though," Lotor mused.

Pidge scoffed. "No one can rewrite the stars, Lotor. How could you even think of that? There are doors that we cant walk through, and our relationship was clear proof of that."

"You're saying that it's impossible, and I know deep down that it is, but a part of me wishes that there was a way we could rewrite the stars."

"It's impossible, Lotor. If we tried to start up our relationship again, we'd only break each other even more. No one can rewrite the stars, and I'm clearly not the one you were meant to find. It's not up to you, and its not up to me, because that's just how the world wants it to be. Everything is keeping us apart. How could you possibly say that we could even have a chance at rewriting the stars? It's impossible."

"I was hoping you would say it's possible," Lotor said quietly, frowning as he drove off the highway, driving at the speed limit towards Pidge's house. "If we rewrote the stars, then you would be meant to be mine and nothing could keep us apart. You would be the one I was meant to find. We could make the world ours," he said hopefully.

Pidge scoffed. "You sound delusional, Lotor. I already told you that there are doors that we can't walk through, and its impossible to rewrite the stars. No one can rewrite the stars. How could you say you'll be mine when it's obvious I'm not the one you were meant to find? It's not up to you and its not up to me to decide, Lotor. Its impossible, so just give it a rest."

"It's not impossible."

"It feels impossible."

"Say that its possible," Lotor pleaded. "We could rewrite the stars and say that you were meant to be mine if we tried. Nothing can keep us apart. I firmly believe that you are the one I was meant to find, Pidge. It's up to you and me to change the world and make it ours, but I need you to believe that we can rewrite the stars."

They slowed down to a stop in front of a stoplight, Pidge taking a deep breath and shaking her head. "You're you, and I'm me. This is me, Lotor. I'm a girl who knows what she wants in life, and I don't see you and I together in my future. We can't rewrite the stars and change everything that happened. You're you, and based on what you're telling me, it looks like you won't change. Maybe in another reality we could rewrite the stars, but not in this one. In this one, our hands are tied. We're looking for different things and we have different morals. You and I weren't meant to find each other, so stop saying we can rewrite the stars because we can't." She sat back in her seat, closing her eyes as they neared her home.

"It's hopeless," she said quietly. 

Lotor only frowned and continued to drive across Altea, the duo arriving at the Holt residence within a matter of ten minutes. He slowed to a stop in front of the house, not facing Pidge as she started gathering her things. 

She tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear, looking at Lotor with a small, sad frown. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry for saying that we could."

"If things weren't like they were now, I would think about it, but you're not the one I want. We both know that. This relationship was doomed from the start, and I know that now, even though I tried to believe it wasn't a few months ago." She bit her lip before patting him awkwardly on the shoulder, opening the car door and stepping out. "I'll see you the next time you drag me to the South."

"Of course," Lotor said distractedly, waiting for her to shut the car door before driving off, his thoughts plaguing his mind. Their relationship had been short lived, but he knew that she was right. They were doomed from the start, and no matter how much he would try to rewrite the stars, he just couldn't. He was afraid of being alone, and being with her had made him feel a false sense of security. He sighed, driving off towards his own home while ignoring his thoughts.

_Damn you, Katie Holt. Damn you for walking into my life._

* * *

Pidge sighed, unlocking the front door with her key. As soon as she entered, she was met with BaeBae's barks of excitement and he threw himself at her, Pidge laughing as she kneeled down to pet him. "Yeah yeah I'm happy to see you too." She chuckled as he licked her face, looking up when she heard someone snort in amusement.

"Look who finally decided to come home," Keith said in amusement, leaning against the wall. "You've been gone for almost two hours, and your parents got tired of waiting for you to come home. They went out to buy groceries, by the way, so you're probably going to have to help cook later." He laughed as he saw her roll her eyes, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled. "If it's any consolation, you make good food when you actually try."

"Thank you," she muttered sarcastically, standing up and tilting her head to the side. "Why are you here, anyways? This is my house, not yours."

"Your house is basically my second home." Keith shrugged. "Your parents said it was fine for me to wait here. They looked a little confused when I said that I was waiting for you to return from hell, but I don't think they're that concerned."

Pidge's eyes widened. "Please tell me you didn't tell them that I was in the Southern part of Altea. They would ground me for life if they found out that thats where I've been going for the past three days."

Keith put his hands up defensively, shaking his head. "I said hell, not the Southern part of Altea." He raised a brow. "How was it, anyways?"

Pidge scoffed. "You act like you haven't seen it. Come on, we both know you visited Thace after school."

Keith shrugged. "Krolia sent me there to tell him the message face to face. I don't know why she's always so extra and hiding things. She always acts as if I were her kid when I'm clearly not." Keith huffed in annoyance. "Crazy."

"Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that," Pidge said, crossing her arms. "Acxa doesn't have your same eye color or anything like that but she's still your sister, according to genetics. _Those_ are some wild genes. Now _Krolia_ ," she said, waggling her brows, "has your exact same hair color and eye color. Hell, even her personality and face look like yours!"

Keith snorted, sending her a grin. "Please. I think I would recognize my own mother."

"I don't know, Keith. You are kinda dense," Pidge teased. She laughed as she saw him pout, shaking her head in amusement as a fond smile graced her lips. "I'm joking, I'm joking. But seriously, Krolia looks so much like you that I'd be surprised if she isn't your mom."

"If she is then we have a problem, because sometimes I can't stand her."

"Now you know how Aiko felt about you when you were a kid." She shook her head, glancing upstairs. "Is Matt home?"

"If he was home, he would've said hi by now or he would've slid down the stairs on his ass to make a big entrance." Keith rolled his eyes. "Matt left a half hour ago to go on a date with Marisol."

"It's literally only six thirty though. Why go on a date so early?"

"Why wouldn't you go on a date that early? More time to spend eating without being judged for staying in the restaurant until midnight."

"Okay but we should do that sometime."

"Go on a date?" Keith raised a brow, looking at her incredulously. 

"What? No!" She rubbed her temples in circular motions, squeezing her eyes shut and letting a deep breath out. "I meant that we should go to a restaurant and just eat until its midnight! Imagine all the dirty looks from the workers who are just waiting for us to leave so they can lock up." She smirked evilly, rubbing her hands together. "Oh, we're doing that before we graduate."

"How about graduation night? We'll sneak out after the party and go to Applebees," Keith offered, smiling. "I'll pay."

"Then you'll be paying for all of us because I'm going to drag Lance and Hunk with us and maybe Shiro, Allura and Matt. I'm still deciding."

Keith snorted. "Whatever you say, Pidge." He looked at his phone and then glanced out the living room window, grinning. "Wanna go to the park before your parents get home?"

Pidge raised a brow, grinning. "What are we, thirteen? We haven't gone there since eighth grade when the whole Spin-the-Bottle thing happened." She chuckled, shaking her head as she remembered the events that took place. "We should play again."

"Last time we played that was eight grade and it didn't end so well, remember? You kissed a random kid that was playing, Hunk kissed me, and I kissed Lance, which was by far the grossest thing I've ever done. I'm into dudes, but not him."

"Aw, you don't like the burnt piece of wood?" Pidge inquired innocently, batting her eyelashes as Keith burst out laughing

"No," Keith wheezed, grinning. "Holy fuck, don't be so rude."

"Hey, you were the one who called your kiss with him 'gross.' To be fair, Keith, we were in eighth grade. How good of a kisser could you be back then?" She grinned. "Don't look so scared, Keith. We weren't going to play Spin-the-Bottle. Although I will take you up on that park offer. Totally not because I don't want to cook when my parents get home, nope."

Keith scoffed. "Yeah yeah, totally." He glanced at her book bag, frowning. "Do you have homework? I don't want you skipping sleep again because you went out instead of doing your homework."

Pidge snorted, slinging her bag on the banister. "I finished my project last week, so I have no homework for English right now. I might have some Calc work, but I can get Matt to give me the answers later. Let's just go before my parents get home," she urged, taking Keith's hand and pulling him out the door, the boy yelping in surprise as she pulled on him. She let go of him to lock the front door, BaeBae whining on the other side of the door. "I'll be back soon BaeBae!"

She ran down the front stairs, motioning for Keith to follow her. "Come on, Keith! I'm really not trying to cook tonight!"

Keith finally caught up to her, shaking his head as he glanced down at her. "First of all, you're being rude because I've been craving some of your killer chicken nuggets. You have to give me the recipe, by the way."

"It's called 'stick them in the microwave and watch them burn to perfection for five minutes.' You should try it!" Pidge said sarcastically. 

Keith snickered. "Thanks. I'll try it next time my mom buys chicken nuggets." He glanced at the park before looking back at Pidge, a grin forming on his face. "Five bucks says I beat you to the park."

"Oh you're fucking on."

"Go!" Keith yelled without warning, leaving the girl stunned as she watched him get a head start before regaining her senses. She gasped, furrowing her brows playfully as she shook her head.

"No fucking fair Keith!" She quickly ran after him, laughing as she eventually ran past him. She came to a stop at the jungle gym, grinning from ear to ear as Keith struggled to catch his breath. "Someone owes me five dollars now," she teased.

Keith took deep breaths in, shaking his head. "Please, no! I'm begging you, Pidge. I'm broke as fuck."

"Apparently not as broke as your athletic skills." She shook her head, climbing the stairs to the top of the largest slide. "You're getting old, Keith! I guess I should call you a grandpa!" She only stuck her tongue out as Keith stuck the middle finger up at her, grinning as she felt the cool, afternoon air against her face. 

_I've missed this._

After a while of chasing each other on the jungle gym and taking some risky pictures of Keith standing on the top of it as if he were  a pirate, they found themselves on the swings, Keith sitting on one while Pidge lazily swung her feet, swinging back and forth lightly. 

"Dude, you should post that picture you took on the jungle gym to your instagram. Shiro is going to have a heart attack when he sees you posing like a pirate with your knife on a jungle gym," Pidge wheezed. 

"What would the caption be?" Keith asked in amusement, grinning as he looked at the picture in question.

"I don't know. Some wild shit probably, like, 'this is my playground now' or 'yeehaw' just for the fun of it." Pidge snorted. "Oh, here's a better one. 'Trying to stab the stars but my knife isn't long enough.'"

"Yes." 

"Holy fuck no–"

"I'll do it later when I have better cell service." Keith swung back and forth lightly, looking off to the side before clearing his throat to catch Pidge's attention. "Hey, can I ask a question?"

"Shoot."

"Did you talk to Lotor at all during your car ride or did you just annoy him for the entire ride?"

Pidge shrugged, catching more air as she swung her legs back and forth. "Both I guess? I don't know, man. It was a weird conversation. It felt like we were talking in song the entire time. The guy has some breakup issues." She snorted, letting her head fall back as she swung back and forth. "He kept talking about rewriting the stars so our relationship could live even though it has been in its grave since the beginning."

Keith stopped swinging, looking at Pidge in confusion. "What?"

"Yeah, I know right? He kept talking about how he wants to rewrite the stars so that we can get back together or something, and said that it wasn't impossible when I told him he was crazy for ever thinking of something like that."

Keith snorted, rolling his eyes. "Seems to me like he's trying a little too hard to try to earn your trust again."

"Yeah." She frowned, coming to a stop next to Keith. "But, the guy also said he actually kinda liked me before. He said that he liked me for my personality before he decided to make his plan more larger and lost interest in dating and focused more on being manipulative to make sure that I stayed with him. He said–"

"This guy is full of so much shit," Keith interrupted, shaking his head. "Do you seriously believe he likes you?"

"I'm just telling you what he told me, Keith." She crossed her arms. "No offense, but shut up."

"Much offense taken."

"As I was saying, Lotor kept talking about how he knows he's manipulative and that he doesn't like it, but he can't stop doing it because it's how he defended himself against his parents apparently. He knows that what he's doing is wrong, but he won't drop the plan."

"Well, theres your answer to how sincere he is. He won't drop the plan even though he knows it's wrong. Pidge, no offense, but this guy is full of shit and lies. I don't trust him. If he liked you for real, then he wouldn't have manipulated you in the first place into staying with him after you realized what he was doing. That's not called love, that's called being abusive." Keith frowned, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. "He's never going to change, and no matter how much you try to rewrite the stars, that isn't going to change."

"Would you rewrite the stars?" Pidge asked suddenly, turning around to face Keith. "Would you rewrite our entire story to change anything?"

Keith's brows shot up and he bit his lip, putting a finger up to his chin. "The only thing I could think of that would possibly make me want to rewrite our story is definitely our fight. That's something that I would change if it were possible to rewrite the stars."

"But no one can rewrite the stars, Keith. No matter how much you wish you can, nothing can change. What happened is in the past, and no matter how much you want to change it, what's done is done. Rewriting the stars is impossible and flat out stupid. Our stories are written the way they are, and I've learned some shit myself." She shrugged. "I wouldn't rewrite the stars for anything."

"Let's say that it was possible to rewrite the stars. Name something that you would change about your life."

"My love life," Pidge immediately answered, shaking her head. "I've lost hope in romance because the guy I like is clearly dense as fuck. He doesn't even realize that I've been trying to flirt with him for the past month and its really frustrating!"

"What an idiot." Keith shook his head. "Don't worry Pidge, I'm sure he'll come to his senses sooner or later."

"My point stands." She sighed, letting her arms fall to her sides. "I don't know, man. It looks like I'm destined to stay single for life, and I want to be okay with that but I know that I'm not." 

Keith frowned, taking her hand into his own, squeezing it gently. "Pidge, you're the most amazing person I've ever met. Any guy —except Lotor— would be lucky to date you. You have an amazing and bitchy personality that makes you unique, you're practically a genius and you're extremely beautiful. Your eyes are a deep shade of amber, and your hair is so soft and smells like flowers although you scream death with your glares. You're sarcastic one moment, but laughing the next and crying later. You're amazing because in this world full of fake people, you're real and not like them. You stand out in a crowded room full of hundreds of people. You're the only one worth picking in the piles of fish in the sea. You're amazing, Katie, and I'll scream it from the top of my lungs until you understand it."

Pidge looked up at him with a flushed face, biting her bottom lip as she stared at him nervously. "Do you really mean that?"

"Every single fucking word." He tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, smiling softly. "You're amazing, Pidge. Any guy would be lucky to even be noticed by you, especially the one who stole your heart." He smiled painfully at her, looking to the side before sighing. "Especially him."

Pidge smiled, squeezing his hand to catch his attention. "No one can rewrite the stars, but I think our story is telling us that we don't have to do that to be happy. We have each other, and that's enough. I wouldn't rewrite the stars even if I could." 

_I would._ Keith sent her a crooked smile before getting up and stretching, Pidge doing the same. "It's getting kinda late. We should, probably get you home before your parents think you were kidnapped or something."

"Yeah, probably." She chuckled and wrapped an arm around his waist, Keith slinging an arm around her neck as she took a hold of his hand. "Didn't you ask me out to prom by asking me to rewrite the stars with you?"

Keith shrugged. "Don't remember. Am I still your date?"

"Only if you want to," she said shyly, smiling as she glanced at their intertwined hand. "No pressure, though. We only have to stop a crazy guy from blowing up our future school."

"Oh, then definitely yes." They walked home in silence, Keith desperately trying to ignore the pain in his heart as he thought about what Pidge had said.

 _'No one can rewrite the stars, but I think our story is telling us that we don't have to do that to be happy.'_ He looked to the side, a small frown on his face. Did she mean that they were fine being best friends? Or did she mean that their story wasn't over yet and that something could happen in the future? He let out a small sigh. 

_I would rewrite the stars any day if it meant that you would be mine._

He shook his head as they walked up the stairs of the Holt residence, smiling sadly while he watched Pidge laugh as BaeBae threw himself on her when she opened the door. She looked so happy, so beautiful and cute at the same time. He would give anything to have her by his side for the rest of his life.

But the stars were unclear, and he didn't know what the future held. _'Soulmates!'_ Mateo had said, and so had everyone else after taking one look at them. Looking at her fall for someone that he could only wish was him only made him wish that there were some way to rewrite the stars to make sure they did spend the rest of their lives together. But Pidge was right. No one could rewrite the stars, and it wasn't up to him or her to decide on their future together if it wasn't written in the stars. 

And for one moment, he really wished that he _could_ rewrite the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop whoop, new chapter done in one day! If I have to be honest, listening to Rewrite The Stars on repeat for the past two weeks was what really motivated me to write this chapter lolol. I love the song so much that I just HAD to find a way to use it in this fic so this happened. This is one of my favorite chapters so far, mainly because of the references. I hope you guys enjoyed it!


	33. Walking A Tightrope With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith bonds with Krolia while Pidge discovers a secret that Allura has been keeping from her. Pidge and Keith also argue over their opinions on Lotor, and Keith says something that leaves Pidge with many questions.

After five minutes of watching Pidge stare at her cup of ice cream and watch it melt, Keith sighed and crossed his arms, slumping back in his chair. She had asked him to get her a cup ice cream from Vrepit Sal's place before they went dress shopping, but she hadn't even touched it. He couldn't understand why she would ask for ice cream and not eat it.

After watching her stare at her ice cream for two more minutes, he finally cleared his throat, attempting to catch the girl's attention. Pidge snapped out of her thoughts and pursed her lips, looking down at Keith with a perplexed expression. "What?"

"Are you just going to watch your ice cream melt or are you going to keep staring into space again?"

Pide rolled her eyes. "It isn't even melting yet, Keith."

"It sure looks like it is to me," Keith said, gesturing towards the melting ice cream, which was pooling on the table around the base of the cup. "If I knew you were going to stare and wait for it to turn into milk then I would've gotten you a baby bottle."

Pidge grabbed the spoon with her right hand and scooped up a bit of ice cream, sticking it in her mouth without breaking eye contact Keith. "Happy now?" She asked through bites, Keith shuddering.

"Don't do that."

She only smirked and took a huge spoonful of ice cream, taking a bite and proceeding to stick her face in Keith's own, smacking her lips. Keith only looked at her in disgust before pushing her head out of the way, Pidge chuckling as she was put back in her seat.

"You're horrible, you know that?"

"I learned from the best." She winked at him, causing Keith to pout and turn away, a light blush dusting his cheeks. "Oh come on, I'm joking! Don't get over sensitive on me now, I need you to get my mind off of everything that's been going on."

Keith stopped pouting and twisted his body around to face her again, a concerned expression replacing his blush. "Is he getting to you again?"

Pidge sighed, running a hand through her hair as she played with some of the ice cream that was still left in her cup. "Yes? No? Maybe? It's complicated," she said frustratedly.

"What's so complicated about it?"

"Everything!" Pidge yelled, dropping her spoon and tugging at the ends of her hair harshly. A few heads turned their way before looking away as Keith sighed, making it clear that he wasn't in the mood to have them eavesdrop. Pidge took a deep breath in, closing her eyes and letting her head fall onto her knuckles as she let her breath out. "Lotor is a really confusing person and I honestly don't know what to expect at this point, Keith. I'm so confused!"

"Why are you so confused? It's Lotor, Pidge. The guy is twisted–"

"But what if he isn't?" Pidge asked, a sad frown on her face. "These past few months have shown me that even if Lotor is doing what he's doing, he's still a human. Keith, when I went to his house I couldn't stand it. I can't imagine how Lotor managed to live there for his entire childhood. He was verbally abused and I'm sure that if Zarkon could walk, he would've been physically abused too."

Keith frowned. "So you're feeling sorry for the villain now?"

"Is he really the villain?" Pidge retorted, her sad expression turning angry within a matter of seconds. "To me, it seems like Lotor is the victim of the villain. He's trying to fix things, but he's going about them in the wrong way and I honestly feel so torn about this, Keith. What if he's not our main villain? It's like the stories where the bad guys aren't the bad guys, like that show with the fire bending guy that Hunk showed us a while back. He tried to do what he thought was good, even though it was bad!"

"Are you seriously trying to compare Lotor to Zuko?" Keith said incredulously, his eyes narrowing as he glared at her. "This villain is actually trying to hurt not one, but two people. He can't be redeemed, you said yourself! Lotor doesn't want to change, and he never will change, so stop trying to see the good in people when there isn't any in them."

"You haven't been around him like I have, Keith! Everything he's doing has been motivated by his trauma, and for once in my life I feel like I'm wrong about someone. He's painted as the bad guy, but is he really the main villain we're facing?" She crossed her arms, leaving the ice cream on the table to melt. "There's something that's stopping me from outright hating him, and I don't like it, but I don't feel like he's our enemy."

"You've lost your mind!"

"Have I? Or are you just being small minded?" She snapped, glaring at him.

Keith grunted, slamming a hand on the table. "I'm not being small minded, I'm just thinking logically!"

"No, you're letting your emotions get the best of you again!" She retorted, standing up and pushing her seat out from under her. "He's not a bad person! He's just trying to do the right thing but doing it in the wrong way!"

"You're crazy," Keith breathed out, standing up and clenching his fists, letting his arms fall to his sides. By now, the entire food court had turned around in their direction to see what was going to happen, most of the people on the food lines also watching the spectacle. "You're insane, you know that? Listen to what you're saying! You're spitting out bullshit about how he's a good person when all he is is a manipulative bitch! Don't you understand?! He's using his sob story to tear you apart and you're falling for it! Just because he acts like he's broken doesn't mean that he's just a misunderstood kid!"

"Hypocrite much?! You act like he's being a two faced piece of shit while you do the exact same thing! You know what?" She grabbed her cup and threw it at his chest, the onlookers gasping as they watched Keith evade it. "Fuck you! You're a bitch who can't understand that people aren't always what they seem!" She spun around on her heel and stomped out of the food court, heading towards the nearest exit.

Keith looked at her retreating figure in disgust, his fists trembling as he saw her leaving. "You're the only hypocrite here! Fuck you!" He was only met with a middle finger and just like that, she walked out of the mall, leaving Keith to pick his things up and stomp off in the opposite direction, leaving the people in the food court to look after both of them in shock, Keith whipping around upon hearing the whispers. "Shut up!" He roared, turning on his heel as he walked angrily towards the opposite exist, the entire food court deathly quiet.

Keith walked out of the mall angrily, tossing his helmet onto his head and hopping on his motorcycle, tying his sweater around his waist and speeding off in the direction of his home, ignoring the feeling of growing emptiness in his chest as he replayed what she had said.

 _'You act like he's being a two faced piece of shit while you do the exact same thing!'_ He scowled, tightening his grip on the handlebars as he made a sharp turn. _I'm very understanding! I just can't understand how she's feeling sympathetic for an asshole who has done nothing but hurt her!_ His scowl deepened as he felt his phone ringing, prompting him to stop and pull over, much to his annoyance.

His annoyance only grew as he saw who was calling him. _Matt Holt._ He let out an annoyed huff and turned on his bluetooth earpiece, rolling his eyes once he heard the boy immediately start yelling at him. He started his bike up again and hopped back onto the road, vaguely listening to all the nonsense Matt was yelling into his ear.

_"What the hell did you do that made my sister ask me to pick her up? She's supposed to be dress shopping for fuck's sake!"_

"Hey, it's not my fault she's being an ass and sticking up for Lotor!" Kieth spat out, his brows furrowing. "She kept saying that Lotor isn't our enemy when it's pretty fucking clear that he is!"

_"Why couldn't you just let her talk?! She's been calling me for the past ten minutes to pick her up and when I said I couldn't she just hung up on me! Why do you love provoking her? Is that one of your kinks?!"_

"Matt I swear when I get home–"

_"I'm not even home! I'm in the car with Shiro and Allura who are, by the way, very disappointed with the both of you for yelling at each other in the food court of the mall!"_

"How the hell do you know that we were fighting in the food court?!"

_"Pidge tells all when she's angry, Keith! You better pray that she forgives you when she gets home because if she doesn't, she's going to kick your ass! I'm so disappointed with how you two fix your relationship issues."_

"We're not even in a relationship!"

_"Yeah, you can kiss goodbye to having any chance with her. You always find some way of making yourself less attractive–"_

"Well sorry that I am extremely out of control with my emotions, Matt! I'm sorry that you don't like me for causing her to ask you to pick her up, but what she said makes no sense and I am not here for it!" He hung up on Matt, yelling angrily into the sky as he neared the exit, anger coursing through his veins as he sped up, ignoring the looks that the people on the sidewalks were sending him.

Within ten minutes he had pulled into his driveway and thrown his helmet on the ground, not bothering to pick it up as he walked directly into his backyard. He grabbed his knife from it's secret hiding place under a plant pot and ran towards the tree in his yard, stopping half way and chucking it into the trunk. It lodged itself deep in the trunk, Keith groaning out loud in annoyance as he stomped over towards the tree to free it.

"For fucks sake, nobody has the fucking time for this shit!"

"Nobody has the time to listen to your very interesting word choices," came a voice from behind him.

Keith let out an involuntary scream, falling backwards as he freed his knife from the tree in which it was lodged in. He looked up at the speaker, slowly getting and placing his left hand on his heart. "What are you doing here?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"It would've completed your bruises," Krolia said dryly, looking down at him with an unimpressed expression. "Do you always scream like a girl?"

"Hey, you sneaked up on me!" Keith said defensively, tightening his grip around his knife. Krolia looked down at his hand and shook her head, her unimpressed expression changing to be even more unimpressed.

"You can't throw a knife through everything, including me, to solve your problems, Keith."

Keith glared at her. "What do you know of my problems?! You don't even know me!"

"You're right, I don't know you, but at least I'm trying to get to know you while you push me away."

"I don't feel like talking to you! All we do is argue and annoy each other. No offense, but I can't stand you," Keith said angrily, gesturing towards the tree behind him. "Now would please leave me alone to take out my anger on the tree? I've had enough with women today," he said sourly, preparing to throw the knife into the tree again. "They're crazy!"

"Ah. Girlfriend troubles again, I see."

"Pidge is not my girlfriend!" Keith said exasperatedly, the hand holding the knife falling limp as he looked at Krolia with annoyed expression.

"I didn't say her name," Krolia said in slight amusement, taking joy in watching Keith blush and look away angrily. She crossed her arms, tilting her head to the side as she observed Keith. "You did fight with her, did you not?"

"Why would you think that?" Keith asked through grit teeth, his hands clenched as he just stood there. "I'm completely fine!"

"Your jaw is clenched and your body is all rigid. Your face is all contorted and your fists are also clenched. The only times you get that angry is when you and Katie argue." Krolia snorted as she watched Keith look at her in shock. "I wasn't born yesterday, Keith. It's clear that you have feelings for her and that everything she says affects you in some way. What happened now?"

Keith frowned and crossed his arms, leaning against the tree moodily while glaring at Krolia. "Lotor happened."

"Oh no, the crazy ex boyfriend who is no longer on her nice list? What a threat to your position," Krolia said dryly, ignoring Keith's death glare. "Continue."

"He's been putting some things in her head and now she's convinced that he's only a misunderstood kid or something when he's really not! Lotor has proven to be the enemy time and time again, and I don't understand how Pidge can see the good in him! Its so...so–!"

"Stupid," Krolia finished, looking at Keith expectantly. "That's what you were going to say, right?"

"Yes! Thank you, Krolia," Keith said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

Krolia raised a brow. "Is that it?"

"What do you mean 'is that it?' Is that your only reaction?" Keith said in disbelief, the woman only shrugging in response. "Are you fucking serious? You're not even concerned that it might put the plan in jeopardy?!"

"First of all, language," Krolia chastised, crossing her arms and glaring at him playfully. "Second of all, the plan isn't going to be sabotaged because of her sympathy for Lotor. She may feel sympathetic, but she isn't stupid. She'll fight tooth and nail to protect her loved ones, and she adores Allura. She'll protect her more after she learns of her secret, though," Krolia mused. "Believe me, Keith, the plan is secure. She knows what she's doing, and believe it or not, she has more control over her emotions than you."

"I can control my emotions!"

"Yes, that explains why you were beat up while trying to protect your girlfriend and why you're throwing the most ugliest jealous fit that I have ever seen anyone throw," Krolia deadpanned. "Your emotions lead your decisions, and that can either be bad or good. By the looks of how angrily you were stabbing the poor tree, you must have had quite the fight with your girl–"

"She's not my girlfriend," Keith let out exasperatedly. "We're more like best frenemies."

"That would be more of your relationship with Lance. No, your relationship with Katie is more like friends and almost lovers." Krolia shook her head. "Such a tragedy. If you like her, you can't just go and yell at her every second of the day and expect to have any chance at having a relationship with her."

Keith scoffed. "Believe me, I lost any hope of a relationship with her after hearing how sympathetic she is for the piece of–"

"Language."

"–shit." Keith rolled his eyes. "No offense, but please fuck off. You're almost as bad as my mom when she hears me curse."

"I wonder why," Krolia deadpanned, sighing as Keith looked at her in confusion. "Never mind," she said, waving a hand in front of her face dismissively. "You'll learn one day. Now, what were you saying about Lotor?"

"He keeps trying to get back with Pidge by saying that they can 'rewrite the stars' or whatever, and it's annoying me so much because they can't rewrite their story that already happened! Its impossible to rewrite the stars, and he keeps trying so hard and she's falling for it like an idiot!" Keith pulled at his hair harshly, growling. "It makes me so angry to see how she's so sympathetic for the same person who abused her during their entire relationship and didn't bother to tell her what his plans were!"

Krolia looked at him thoughtfully, putting a finger up to her chin as she started pacing on the lawn. She stopped after a few moments, looking at Keith with a tired expression. "You really do let your emotions get the best of you."

"What are you talking about?" Keith asked in annoyance, one brow raised and the other furrowed.

"I mean that you let your emotions get the best of you." Upon seeing Keith's confusion, she only sighed. "You do know that you aren't really angry at her going back to someone who abused her right? Sure, that may be a part of it, but your real problem is that you're really jealous of how Lotor is trying and you're not."

Keith snorted. "Please, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard–"

"Is it really though?" Krolia retorted, cutting the boy off. "You have a big problem with handling your jealousy. I may not have been around you your entire life, but I can tell that you get jealous if anyone interacts with Katie or even mentions the idea of them being together."

"No one is good enough for Pidge," Keith argued. "She's too smart to pick any of the idiots at Altea High."

"Yet she picked you," Krolia mumbled under her breath, looking up at Keith with a bored expression. "Your jealousy is what makes you so annoyed with the fact that she's showing any emotion for any other person who isn't you, and everyone can see it. How she hasn't realized is mind blowing itself, but how you haven't confessed is the real shocker here. What ever happened to men taking the risk? What do kids say these days? Shoot your shot?" Krolia thought out loud, Keith groaning in response.

"Please don't ever say that again."

"Come on, Keith. If you have a chance with her, then you should take it! Man up! The girls can't do everything for you."

Keith rolled his eyes. "I don't have a chance with her. She doesn't want to give me a chance and the stars don't was us to be together."

"What do the stars have to do with this? Just because it's not written in the stars now doesn't mean that it won't happen in the future. Tell me, what exactly did she say?"

"She said that she wouldn't rewrite the stars to change our story because it's 'perfect the way it is,' and I'm so confused! Does that mean she thinks we're better off as friends? Or does it mean that our story isn't over and that we have a chance of being something more than friends? I really want to believe that it's the second option, but I feel that we aren't meant to be, like she isn't the one I was meant to find."

"You're walking on a tightrope with her," Krolia mused.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Think of it like a circus. You could be the ring master, and she your lover. You're walking on a tightrope with her, the both of you looking down at everything happening and falling together. You have to maintain your balance to stay on the rope, and if you fail to do so, you fall. Lately, it seems like you two have been falling more than staying on the tightrope. If I had to say why that's happening, it would most likely be because of the sexual tension."

"Krolia!"

"Am I wrong?" Krolia asked stubbornly, pointing a finger in Keith's direction. "You're both at fault for that by not telling each other how you actually feel."

"And when you say 'tell each other' you mean me making a fool out of myself because–"

"The girl adores you, Keith. The chances of you getting rejected by her are very small, almost microscopic. If she says no, there are some serious issues with her." She raised a brow. "Come on, you can't tell me that you haven't noticed how she acts around you, right?"

"How she acts like a bitch? Hell yeah I noticed," Keith said sourly.

"That's only because you provoke her. When you're not provoking her, you two are inseparable and at each other's sides as soon as you wake up. She admires you and adores you almost as much as you do. She would follow you to the end of the world, probably even into space."

"I've noticed that she likes hanging out with me, but that's it," Keith confessed, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "I always thought that she just thought of me as another sibling."

"If she looked at Matt the way she looks at you, there would be a huge problem," Krolia said dully. "Look, I'm not saying that you should tell her outright that you like her, but give her some clues at least that show her that you want something more. Don't keep saying 'oh it's not written in the stars' because only people who long for a life that is simple and plain say that. Your life is anything but ordinary, and your love life especially. If it's not written in the stars, change it and make sure that your future is what you want it to be."

"But no one can–"

"Everyone says that you can't rewrite the stars, but that's not true. Anyone can rewrite their story. They can't rewrite their past because that has passed, but they can rewrite their future and change it to be what they want. I rewrote my story and then fell back into what was written before, and it is something that I have regretted for so many years," Krolia said sorrowfully, looking to the side.

"What did you rewrite?" Keith asked cautiously.

"My own love story," Krolia answered with a wry smile. "I wasn't supposed to fall in love and have a child since I was a member of the Blade of Marmora, but I changed by future by having not one, but _two_ children. My biggest regret was leaving one of them with their father while taking the other one with me, and it is something that will haunt me until my dying day. Keith," she said, walking forward and placing a hand on his shoulder, "don't make the same mistakes I did. If you change your future, hold onto it as tightly as you can and don't let your story be rewritten."

Keith looked at her in shock before nodding, Krolia taking her hand off his shoulder. "Krolia...I had no idea..."

"It was a long time ago, Keith. It is a feeling I will have to live with for most of my life, which is what I don't want you to feel. If you love her and want to be with her but feel like the stars are telling you that you can't be together, just remember who you are. You don't take orders from anyone, because you're a leader even if you don't believe you are. You can still rewrite your story."

Keith stared at her with a pensive look, his grip on his knife loosening. "Thank you, Krolia," he breathed out, sending her a small smile. When she smiled back, he turned around and threw his knife into the tree trunk more gracefully, the knife lodging itself in the center of the tree.

Krolia looked on with pride, her small smile never faltering as she watched him. She longed to give him a hug and outright tell him that he was her child, but it wasn't the right time to tell him something of that magnitude. Kolivan knew as soon as he had laid his eyes on Keith that he was her son, and had asked her to refrain from telling him anything before their mission was complete. She obliged, but she longed to tell him who she really was and to hug him.

 _One day,_ she thought to herself. _One day._

* * *

"He's such an asshole!"

"You've said that like twenty different times in the span of five minutes," Matt said dryly, letting his head fall against the car window. "We get it, Keith's an ass! It's nothing new, Pidge."

"He's telling me I'm wrong for feeling any other emotion than hatred for Lotor! Who the hell does that?!"

"I can't really see how you'd have sympathy for someone who's going to kill your friends," Allura muttered, crossing her arms across her chest. "But go off, I guess."

"Allura," Shiro breathed out, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "She's going to–"

"Oh you're the one to talk! You were the one who started all of this by abandoning Lotor when you were kids!" Pidge yelled, sticking an accusing finger in Allura's shocked face. "You left him as soon as you heard that Zarkon tried to kill your dad! Did it ever occur to you that Lotor isn't his father? Did it ever occur to you that maybe he wasn't the monster? You were the real monster there for abandoning him while knowing how bad his situation was!"

Everything suddenly got quiet, Matt looking awkwardly between Allura and Pidge. Shiro gasped, quickly looking at Allura, who only stared at her thighs in shock as she processed what Pidge said. Her gaze hardened as she whipped her head around, looking at Pidge in disgust.

"You really are his toy. I can't believe you're falling for his–"

"Lies?" Pidge hissed, her brows furrowing in anger. "You think that every word is a lie when you know fully well what you did! You left him to suffer the wrath of his dad all alone and when he needed you the most, you disappeared. Hell, if someone did that to me I'd never forgive them! Lotor has a reason for what he's doing, and it all could've been avoided if you just stayed with him!"

"He's getting to your head! I thought you would know better than to trust the enemy–"

"Is he really the enemy?" Pidge spat out, glaring at Allura. "How the hell am I supposed to know who my enemies are when my friends are looking like the enemies and my enemies like my friends?" She sent Allura a cold look, her shoulders stiffening. "I'm sympathetic, but I'm not going to stop our plans to save everyone. I have feelings too, not just you! It's like nobody respects my feelings! It's like it's Keith all over again!"

She pulled her hood up and crossed her legs under her, leaning her head against the car window. "It's like everyone builds me up only to bring me down again."

Matt frowned, inching closer towards his sister, hesitantly wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Pidge remained tense, not even bothering to look at her brother. He sighed, carding his fingers through her hair soothingly. "Nobody is trying to break you down, Pidge. This isn't Keith. You can't tell at everyone else because of your problems with one person. If you're yelling and everyone else is yelling, nothing is going to get fixed."

"I'm not yelling."

"Of course you aren't," Matt said, rolling his eyes. "Look, we get it. You're upset with Keith, and it's normal to argue with your best friend occasionally. But yelling at Allura for a mistake that she made a long time ago and blaming her for your problems isn't going to fix anything. If anything, you're just making the problem bigger."

"Why is it so hard for any of you to be sympathetic?" Pidge murmured, her eyes downcast. "Lotor–"

"Is the stem of our problems. He hurt you, Pidge, and we don't want you to go through that again. You're vulnerable when someone appeals to your emotions, and so is Keith. You two love to act like your feelings don't exist and that's not good, because they're called feelings for a reason. You have to feel them and express them, not keep them in."

"I get that you're upset with Keith, I do. I went through the same thing with Shiro, but we got over our arguments. Being mad at Keith for his opinion isn't worth it, Pidge. If you want to believe that Lotor is a good person, then go ahead and believe. Everyone has their opinions, and we aren't obliged to like every opinion. You have to understand that Keith just has a different opinion on Lotor than you," Matt said softly, his sister leaning into his chest and closing her eyes.

"It feels like I'm playing bumper cars with Keith. The more we try to get to each other, the more we crash and burn, and I don't like it. I don't know what to do anymore," she confessed, her eyes glassy. "I love him, but I can't stand his opinions. I don't understand how we can both agree on everything else, but we can't agree on one person's attitude."

"Keith is, well, Keith." Matt sighed. "Look, Keith isn't really a complicated person once you look at the whole equation. His issues with Lotor have been present since summer camp, and they only grew more once Lotor took an interest in you, well, romantically," Matt said awkwardly. "You're smart enough to put two and two together, aren't you?"

Pidge frowned. "Are you saying that he's jealous?"

"Bingo!" Matt snapped his fingers, tapping a finger on her nose. "I knew you were smart!"

"I don't get what his jealousy has to do with–"

"Keith really cares about you, Pidge. He's seen you suffer because of Lotor and he doesn't want you to go through that again. He also doesn't like your sympathy Lotor because he probably feels like you feeling sympathetic for him is going to lead to you dating him again. Keith hates the idea of you being with Lotor with every ounce of his being, and you have to understand that." He sighed. "There are some things that I can't tell you because it's not up to me to tell you, but if you're smart enough, you'll realize why he's this mad."

"He's being a big baby. I would never date Lotor again, no matter how sympathetic I am. I like Keith, even though he's dense as fuck and doesn't realize it."

"I can confirm that," Shiro said, shaking his head in disappointment. "He came to my house on Saturday and told me how you said you liked someone and that they didn't understand because they were dense. I don't think I've ever been more in awe of how someone can be so dense."

"I even said 'my point still stands' after he told me that the guy would come to his senses sooner or later." She snorted. "Guess he hasn't come to his senses considering the fact that he just made a scene in the mall because of my feelings."

Allura shook her head. "He's going to make a horrible uncle." Her eyes widened as soon as the words slipped from her mouth, Shiro mirroring her expression. Matt and Pidge both looked at each other before jumping up, each clinging onto Allura's seat as they poked their heads around the back of her chair.

"What the fuck?!"

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" Matt whispered in awe, his eyes swelling up with tears. "Holy shit you are!" He said, spotting the growing smile on Allura's face.

"I found out last Saturday. We haven't told anyone the new yet, so I need both of you to keep your mouths closed until the time is right," Allura scolded lightly, a teasing smile on her face. She frowned as she turned to look at Pidge, her eyes lowering. "I'm sorry that I argued with you."

"Me too," Pidge said with a choked sob, rubbing her eyes furiously. "Holy fuck Allura, you're _pregnant._ You're going to be a _mom._ "

Matt burst out crying, hugging his sister tightly. "Hold me! I'm going to be an uncle!"

"Yes you are," Shiro said in amusement, quickly glancing back to flash Matt and Pidge a smile before returning his gaze to the road. "And Pidge is going to be an aunt."

"You're pregnant," Pidge breathed out, the tears falling more quickly. "You really are fucking pregnant."

"Yes?" Allura said cautiously, somewhat confused as to why Pidge was making such a big deal over of the fact that she was pregnant. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm going to fucking protect you and that kid so hard," Pidge managed to say, her lips trembling. "Lotor can't go through his plan now, just, _fuck_ ," she breathed out, letting out a shaky laugh. "You're really going to be a mom, Allura. I'm so insanely happy for you."

Allura smiled. "If you're this excited for my pregnancy I can't imagine how you'll feel when you have your first child," she said teasingly. Matt gasped, quickly pulling his sister into his sister and embracing her tightly.

"She's going to stay pure, mind you!"

"Whatever lets you sleep easier at night," Pidge mumbled, pushing Matt off of her. "So you haven't told Keith?"

Shiro shook his head, rounding their street corner. "No, we haven't. Knowing him, he's either going to accept it and move on or have a breakdown like you did." He stopped the car in front of the Holt residence, turning to look at Pidge, his expression serious. "I'm trusting you with the secret, Pidge. Please keep it. I want us to be the ones to break the news to everyone."

"Of course," Pidge replied quickly. She looked out the window, her shoulders sagging as she spotted Keith's window open. "Oh great. His window's open."

Math raised a brow. "What about it?"

"He only does that when he wants to talk." She groaned, letting her head fall against the car window. "I really don't feel like talking to him right now. All we're going to do is argue."

"It takes two to argue, Pidge. If you don't scream back, chances are that he's going to get tired of it and will probably stop trying to argue with you," Shiro said, extending his arm to pat her back. "One of you needs to be the mature one."

"Well that can't be me since I'm not mature," Pidge muttered, opening the car door and stepping out. She sighed, flashing Shiro a small smile. "I appreciate you trying to help, though. I'm just going to have to deal with Keith's anger by myself." She shook her head. "I hope that for once we reach a solution."

"Oh we've been waiting for a solution for quite a while," Matt mumbled, looking at his sister snootily. "Why don't you just go talk to him already? Stop stalling. Be a Holt!"

"A nerd? We already have you," she said sweetly, sticking up her middle finger in his direction before turning around on her heels, walking inside the Holt residence with heavy shoulders. She frowned as she walked up the stairs, her anxiety increasing with every step. _What if he really hates me after this? What if we can't bounce back? What if we're done for?_

She shook her head to get rid of her thoughts, taking a deep breath before pushing her bedroom door open. She was met with the familiar light green wallpaper of her room, the glossy space posters welcoming her home. She let out the breath she had been holding once she noticed that her window curtains were shut, letting herself fall backwards onto her bed. "Well lucky me," she mumbled, closing her eyes and attempting to relax 

"I can hear you, you know."

Her eyes snapped open and she groaned, sitting upright and turning her head to face her window. "What are you going to do about it? Jump through my window?" 

"I have a ladder."

"I was joking," she said exasperatedly, hopping off her bed. She walked over towards her window slowly, her shoulders sagging as she opened her curtains. She was faced with Keith sitting on his chair, studying his knife curiously. She raised a brow, clearing her throat. "Uh, Keith? What are you doing?"

"Studying the blade," he responded dismissively, giving it one last final look before placing it on his desk, turning his attention to Pidge. He raised his brows, his lips in a slight pout. "Well?" He asked expectantly, his eyes widening slightly as he did so. "I'm waiting."

"I'm waiting for you to tell me what you want." Pidge crossed her arms. "You're not seriously asking for me to apologize, are you?" Upon seeing Keith's blank stare, she scoffed. "Of course you are," she said, putting her right hand on her hip and gesturing at him with her left. "Are you fucking insane? I have nothing to apologize for!"

"You threw ice cream at my face!"

"You started a scene in the mall!" She retorted, disbelief written across her face. "You're really asking for me to apologize for throwing ice cream when you started a scene in the food court? You are so fucking ridiculous! Just say that you're mad about me defending Lotor and we'll get things done easier!"

Keith scowled. "I wasn't going to bring that up until you apologized for the ice cream thing, but hey, I guess we have to start somewhere." He placed his hands on his windowsill, rising up quickly, the glare on his face ever so noticeable. "You know how I feel about Lotor but the first thing you say when I talk to you is that you're feeling sympathetic for him. How the hell am I supposed to react?! Am I supposed to go, 'oh no let's throw the entire plan away and help him get on the right track to become a decent human'? I can't say that because Lotor isn't meant for redemption, Pidge! He dug his grave in my book of hatred as soon as I met him during summer camp and dug it even deeper once he started dating you! Lotor can't be changed from his ways, and his 'sad childhood' is probably just a made up story to earn your sympathy so that he can build you up and break you all over again!" 

Pidge shook her head, putting up her hands in front of her as she looked at him incredulously. "Okay, hold the fuck up, Keith! First of all, his 'sad childhood' is not a made up story, and I have evidence to prove that! Lotor was abused since he was a child, and even Allura can tell you that, but go off I guess. Second of all, what the hell am I supposed to do about your jealousy?! I can't help it if I have human emotions! I'm trying to see the good in people while you're judging a book by its fucking cover!" 

"You're trying to rewrite the stars with him!"

"I am not trying to do anything with the stars!" She roared, clenching her fists and glaring at him with pure hatred. "I'm just being a human and feeling something called sympathy which is something you have clearly never heard of! It's not my fault that you're jealous over nothing, Keith! You're putting things in your head that aren't even real," she hissed.

"Third of all, how the hell am I supposed to know what you're feeling when you won't even tell me?!" She asked angrily, her fists shaking. "You never tell me what you're feeling and that's what always makes us fucking argue! I'm so tired of this shit, Keith. I'm so fucking sick and tired of us arguing because you think that I know what you're feeling! You can't just assume I'm a psychic, because I'm not! The world doesn't understand you, I don't understand you, and I need you to tell me why the hell you're acting the way you are!"

"You're supposed to know me better than anyone! I've been by your side since we were kids!"

"Then fucking act like it!" She screamed, her eyes swelling up with tears. "You act like we're enemies and on different battle fields, and I don't fucking like it! You've been my best friend since we were kids, but you don't act like it. We're walking on a fucking tightrope and we keep falling because I don't know you! I don't know who you are anymore, Keith. You're the one I've entrusted with everything I know which includes my feelings, but you can't even open up to tell me what the hell is going on!"

"You know me!"

"I don't, and that's what's annoying the shit out of me! Sometimes I feel like trying to connect with you after our argument was a mistake because even though I'm right here with you, I feel like you're miles away and never here. You've changed, and I can't figure you out. I'm trying to understand, but I can't! I need you to tell me what I need to do to fix this shit!"

"Leave Lotor and stop feeling sympathetic for him, and we won't have a problem!"

Pidge slammed her hands on her window sill, sticking her upper torso out of her window. "And here we go with Lotor again! What the hell is up with you and being jealous of him? I told you, him and I are over and we're not going to be together!"

"Then fucking act like it!" He yelled, sticking his head and upper torso out of his window, coming face to face with his angry neighbor.

"I'll act like it when you tell me why the hell you're so worked up over nothing! Is it because I keep mentioning him? Is it because I've been hanging out with him so much for the past few weeks? Tell me what the fuck is going on, Keith!"

"You want to know what the fuck is going on? Fine! I'm jealous as hell because you're acting like you love him and I don't like it!"

"I told you, I don't love him, and if I did, you would have to deal with it!"

"I can't deal with it!"

"Why the hell not?!"

"I just can't!"

"Tell me why!"

"Because I fucking love you and don't know how to deal with it!" He yelled, his jaw clenched. His hands were shaking and his body felt like it was on fire, the sudden silence all too loud. He stopped glaring at her once he realized that she was just standing there stunned, her eyes wide with shock. A sudden feeling of dread ran through his body as he stared at her, his only thought being _oh no._

Her eyes were as wide as saucers, and her lips were slightly parted. The silence was too _loud_ , and everything felt so wrong, yet so _right._ Her mind kept repeating the words that Keith had yelled at her moments before, her own words unable to come out of her mouth. _Because I fucking love you and don't know how to deal with it! Because I fucking love you and don't know how to deal with it! Because I fucking love you–_ She finally regained her ability to speak after a few more moments of silence and looked into his eyes, watching him look at her nervously, as if he had been caught doing something that he shouldn't have been doing. She parted her lips, and the only words that managed to come out of her mouth were–

_"What?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	34. Final Countdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day before prom, and everyone is preparing for doomsday. Pidge and Keith have a secret that only Krolia knows about, and Lotor starts bidding his farewells while his plans start falling apart in front of his very own eyes. Meanwhile, the gang cleans out their treehouse as they try to take their minds off of the upcoming fight for their lives, and for the lives of the entire school body.

Keith pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, letting out an annoyed grunt as he was sent to voicemail for the umpteenth time. "Oh come on!" He threw his phone on his bed, grouchily kicking the foot of his desk.

"No luck?" Hunk questioned sympathetically, Keith spinning around and glaring at him. "I'll take that as a no."

"She knows that we all agreed to meet up after school, but she doesn't show up. Unbelievable!"

Lance rolled his eyes. "You ever wonder if she's avoiding you on purpose?"

"Why would she do that?!"

"Maybe she uh, _como se dice_ , doesn't want to talk to you because you yelled that you loved her after fighting with her?" Lance shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know, it's just a thought."

Keith sighed in annoyance. "Okay, sure. Whatever let's you sleep easier at night."

"Look man, you can't exactly expect a girl to fall into your arms when you've been yelling at her and criticizing her for her relationship choices." Lance looked up at the raven haired boy dully, his head falling to the side as he frowned. "She's going to hate you for a while and I don't blame her for it. You were being an ass, according to Matt."

"Oh, so you're saying that you trust Lotor too?"

"What the hell? No, of course I don't!"

"Then why are you defending her actions?"

"It's been two weeks, why don't you two just drop it?" Hunk groaned, his shoulders sagging. "It feels like I'm talking with two Kardashians instead of my two best friends."

Keith took a deep breath, his brows twitching in annoyance. He turned to face the larger boy, an overly sweet smile on his lips. "Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot that we're supposed to be Mary Sue's with a perfect life," he spat out bitterly.

Lance frowned. "Hey, don't talk to him like that!"

"Fuck off, Lance!"

"Keith, I get that you're mad, but yelling at me isn't going to fix your problems," Hunk said calmly. "If you want to yell at something, yell at your pillow. Also, do me a favor and don't yell at Pidge when she walks in. It's already–"

"Why would he yell at me?"

Lance looked up from his place on the floor, a relieved smile appearing on his face. "Pidge! You made it!"

Pidge nodded slowly, her eyes wandering over to Keith. "I swear I didn't forget that we were going to meet up after school. I just had to go to one last prom meeting right after eight period, but I came here as fast as I could."

Lance brightened up. "Was Plax there?"

Pidge rolled her eyes in amusement, a small smile gracing her lips. "Yeah, she was there. Oh, and she said that she's going to stop by later to pick you up." She shrugged innocently, a smirk appearing on her face as she saw him blush. "I'm not even going to ask why, but wear protection."

"Pidge!" Lance screeched, his face completely red. "It's not like that!"

"Oh sureee." She winked, walking over towards Keith. She crossed her arms as she stood in front of him, arching a brow as she saw him look away. "What happened to broody over here?"

"Oh, you know. The usual."

"And what's the usual?" Pidge asked, poking Keith's arm. "Wait, don't tell me. He got mad that I didn't get here on time, didn't he?"

Lance snapped his fingers. "Bingo!"

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Of course he got mad," she sighed disappointedly. "I should've known."

"You didn't even text to say that you were still going to stay after school!" Keith protested.

"I told you yesterday." Pidge frowned. "Did you even listen to me?"

"You didn't say anything!"

"Well I'm here now, aren't I? Stop being such a baby." She turned towards Lance, a smile on her face. "Anyways, what do you guys want to do before we have to start planning for doomsday?"

"How about we go to the park?"

"Think about our place in the universe?"

Pidge rolled her eyes, turning to look at Keith. "Really? Think about our place in the universe? Is that the best thing you could come up with?"

"It was just a suggestion," he retorted snootily. "Do you have any better ideas?"

"Actually, I do." She smirked, putting her hands on her hips sassily. "Mom and dad told me that I have to start cleaning out the treehouse and since we all stashed stuff there, you're all going to help me clean it." She grinned as a chorus of groans were heard, the girl only shrugging in smug amusement. "Sorry not sorry."

"This is so unfair!" Lance complained, throwing his hands up in the air exasperatedly. "I didn't go home right after school to avoid cleaning, and now it turns out that I still have to clean? _Me piro_ , Pidge. I demand a vote!"

Hunk shook his head. "I hate the idea as much as you do, but you've gotta admit, she does have a point."

"The point is bullshit," Keith muttered bitterly. "We haven't been in the treehouse since–"

"Since you cradled Pidge in your arms," Lance teased. "Man, she must've felt like an entire– ow! Pidge!" He yelled as she kicked his leg, instinctively reaching for it. "That hurts!"

"Stop being a wimp." She turned around to face Keith and smiled, her eyes twinkling in amusement. "Keith, stop complaining so much. We'll be done before you know it, and then we'll go out to eat dinner or something." She watched him start to protest and put her finger against his lips. "Okay? Okay." She tugged on the strap of her book bag, nodding her head over towards her house. "I'll just drop my stuff off in my room and then I'll meet you in the treehouse."

"I'll go with you," Keith said, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Why?" Pidge asked, arching a brow. "It's literally just next door."

"As your neighbor and... _best friend_ ," he said, not missing the way her eyes widened, "I will do as I please. Besides, I think your mom left cookies on the table for us to take when we got home, and I am not missing out on her peanut butter cookies."

"Fine." She sighed in defeat, motioning for him to follow her as she walked out of his room. "But hurry up! I want to get the treehouse cleaned out before dinner."

"Aye aye, captain," he teased, following her. Before he exited his room, he turned around and eyes Lance suspiciously. "Lance, don't touch anything and Hunk, don't look for my diary because I don't have one."

"Keith, hurry up!"

"I'm going!" He sprinted out of his room, rushing down the stairs and meeting a very annoyed Pidge at the bottom. "Okay, I'm ready." The two walked out of his front door in unison, Keith taking Pidge's bag from her and slinging it over his shoulder.

"You have a diary?" Pidge asked suddenly, quirking a brow. When Keith nodded, she put a hand up to her mouth to try and hide her growing smile.

Keith shushed her, putting a finger up to his lips. "Hunk doesn't need to know that." He smirked, slinging an arm around her neck. "I mean, unless you want him to know about... _us_ ," he teased.

Pidge's eyes widened and she playfully shoved him in the ribs, Keith laughing as they made their way up her driveway. "Shut up." She looked up at Keith with a smile on her face, a light blush dusting her face. "I'm still new to the whole relationship thing. Well, not really. It's more like getting used to a relationship where my boyfriend actually acts like my boyfriend."

Keith frowned, pulling out the spare house key from under one of the flower pots on the front porch. "Hey, I'm not Lotor. I swear I would never–"

"I know, and I'm very grateful for that." Pidge sent him a small smile before sighing, looking at Keith in fond amusement. "Why are you so against me telling everyone else that we're a thing? I mean, they already suspect it."

Keith snorted, unlocking the front door successfully and allowing Pidge to enter before him. "Are you joking? If anyone finds out, we're going to spend a week of being whispered about at school and at home. Besides, our parents would start planning the wedding before we even graduate." He shuddered, closing the door behind him. "I'm not prepared for that."

Pidge frowned. "I mean, I guess that makes sense, but you know that they're going to do that anyways whenever we tell them, right?"

Keith shrugged, kneeling down to pat BaeBae's head. "I'd rather tell them when we know that we aren't in any danger of getting blown up by some crazy dude with a grudge." He smiled as BaeBae barked excitedly. "Yeah, I'm happy to see you too, bud."

Pidge chuckled in amusement before walking into the dining room. She looked around for the cookies that Keith had mentioned her mom had made, silently cheering when she found them on the dining room table. "Hell yes."

"Did you find the cookies?"

"Yep," she replied, taking one from the plate they were in and handing him one. "They're kinda cold, but it's better than nothing."

"I need something sweet to get my mind off of doomsday tomorrow." He took a bite of a cookie, leaning on the table on his stomach. "I can't believe prom is only a day away. That's kind of insane, if you ask me."

Pidge shrugged. "Yeah, it is. Three weeks flew by fast," she murmured, a small frown appearing on her face.

"What's wrong?" Keith asked, his tone laced with concern as he watched her stare quietly at the cookie platter. "Are you okay?"

"No," she confessed, her eyes downcast. "Tomorrow is prom and tomorrow everyone's lives are in our hands. It's up to us to make sure that there's a graduating class this year and that Allura and Coran both don't die. It's just, a lot to take in." She put a hand up to her necklace, toying with the gem. "I don't know if we can do it. I don't know if _I_ can do it. It's so much responsibility and now that I'm looking at it, I feel like something's going to go wrong."

Keith frowned. "Nothing's going to go wrong. We created a plan for a reason and we've done everything right. Lotor isn't going to appear at prom until after we get the seniors out of there, and Allura and Coran aren't going to be alone if they do decide to leave the main party hall for whatever reason. Nothing is going to go wrong, okay?" He reached out a hand towards her own, intertwining their fingers. "And if it does, then we'll figure something out like we always do. You aren't doing this alone, Pidge. We're all going to help you."

Pidge looked at their intertwined hands before looking up at him, her frown persisting. "I just have a feeling that something really bad is going to happen, like there's something bigger going on. I don't know what it is, but it's really fucking annoying and I want the feeling gone."

"It's just your nerves," Keith soothed. "Nobody is going to die or get hurt. Well, maybe Lotor is, but that's because he's literally playing with fire." His eyes widened. "Oh yeah, that reminds me. Did you hear about how supposedly Zarkon is planning something against Alfor again?"

Pidge scoffed. "What is he going to do, run Alfor over in his wheelchair? The guy is paralyzed from the hip down, Keith. He can't do shit."

"What if his entire plan was to send Lotor to Altea so that he could use that as the cover up to kill Alfor at prom?"

Pidge shook her head. "No, Zarkon hates Lotor and doesn't even want him to be the heir of his company. Why would he send his son to do his evil bidding?"

"Because it's a cover up, Pidge. It all makes sense! If Lotor transferred to Altea because he hated Galra High and Zarkon somehow found out about his plans, he could be using Lotor's whole 'bombing prom thing' to blame him for killing Alfor when he was the real killer!"

"I love conspiracy theories as much as you do, but that wouldn't work out because Zarkon isn't even allowed on the Altea High or University grounds. Any time that Alfor is at one place then Zarkon is immediately placed on the 'do not enter' list. It just doesn't make sense," she sighed. "It's interesting, but too complicated."

Keith let go of her hand and raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I'm just saying. That entire family has a history of being corrupt and this wouldn't be the first time this happened. Mind you, the Sincline family line has been accused of corruption and murder for years, but there's no real proof that they are killers. That's why they've been able to get away with everything!"

"Like I said, you're putting a little bit too much thought into this. Lotor's plan is something that he's had planned out for a couple of months, and sure Zarkon could've figured it out, but this guy covers his tracks so well and doesn't let his father know anything about him." Pidge frowned. "It'd be impossible for him to figure that out."

"True, but what if there's someone else that could figure out what Lotor is planning? Someone like, I don't know, his mom?"

Pidge snorted. "Seriously? Haggar?"

"I though her name was Honerva." Keith raised a brow. "Where'd you get–"

"Don't ask." She shook her head. "I can't see Honerva really trying to track Lotor down. She acts like he isn't her child and Lotor acts like she isn't his mom. It's just a huge mess."

"Have you seen his interactions with her?" Keith prompted, reaching out for another cookie.

"I have and they hate each other. I don't see why she would stalk him if she doesn't even like him, Keith."

"Uh-huh, but what if that's what she wants you to think?" Keith grinned. "She probably found out what Lotor is doing and is going to tell Zarkon so that he can take advantage of the entire situation! It makes perfect sense now!"

Pidge stared at him blankly, attempting to process everything that he had just said. "Wait wait wait, hold the fuck up. How did we go from dying to conspiracy theories?"

"That's been our entire relationship since the start," Keith pointed out. "Besides, this conspiracy theory–"

"Makes sense, but is too complicated."

Keith let out an involuntary scream, turning around to face the person who had spoken. His eyes narrowed and he clutched his chest, his face pale. "Stop doing that!"

"My apologies." Krolia looked over at Pidge, her expression stoic. "The other Blade members should be coming over in an a few hours to discuss the final details for tomorrow."

"Ugh," she sighed, letting her shoulders sag. "Really?"

"If you want to know exactly what to do and to live, then yes." Krolia crossed her arms, looking at Keith suspiciously. "What's up with you two being so hush hush about your relationship?"

"What relationship?" Keith blurted out defensively, instinctively moving a couple inches away from Pidge. "There's no relationship here." He missed how Pidge flashed him a hurt expression, looking to the side sadly. "You're seeing things, Krolia."

"I'm going to the bathroom," Pidge announced, turning around on her heels and making her way upstairs. As soon as Krolia was sure that the girl was out of earshot, so leaned over and pinched Keith's ear.

"Ow! Krolia!" Keith hissed, rubbing his ear harshly as Krolia let go. "What the hell was that for?!"

"You finally have a girlfriend and you won't even tell anyone? That is one of the worst things I've ever seen you do, and I've seen you do plenty of horrible things during the past month and a half." She crossed her arms, looking down at him in disappointment. "This isn't you."

"Actually, it is," Keith retorted snidely. "You don't know me, Krolia. If you did, you would know that I'm a pretty private person when it comes to relationships and things like that. It's my choice to not tell anyone about our relationship."

"It takes two to be in a relationship," Krolia criticized, her brows twitching in annoyance. "Listen to me closely, Keith. You might not want the whole world to know that you two are finally in a relationship, but that doesn't mean that she's on board. Who gave you the authority to make the decision?"

"She did!" He shook his head, looking up at her in sheer disbelief. "Are you really accusing me of not taking her feelings into consideration? We're happy, and that's all that matters," he snapped. 

Krolia took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Of course you're happy. I understand that. But you have to learn the basics of a relationship, especially the decision making basics. I know you're treating her well, but she's excited, Keith. She's excited and happy about being with you, and you're making her hide that from the world because you don't want to tell anyone."

She frowned, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're concerned about keeping this all to yourself, but you have to understand that she's going to want to tell anyone. I suggests that you two talk things over before something bad happens between you two." She patted his shoulder and turned towards the back door, Keith looking after her in confusion.

"Where did you even come from?"

"I'm living in the guest bedroom until this whole ordeal is over. I'm supposed to be Katie's personal body guard, although I must admit, the girl seems to have good control over bad situations." She smiled. "I approve of your relationship."

"I didn't even ask–!"

The doorbell rang and both Krolia and Keith turned to look at the front door. BaeBae immediately started barking and Keith frowned, hesitantly walking over towards the window and peering through the curtains. The growl that escaped his throat was almost immediate, and he glared at the figure standing outside.

Lotor. The son of a bitch was standing on the front porch, his expression stoic as he just stared at the door. His lips were in a thin line and his brows were slightly furrowed, his body tense. He was wearing casual clothing, a white T-shirt and black jeans with combat boots. Keith watched the other male ring the doorbell again, his fists clenching up.

"Who's at the door?"

Keith froze and immediately closed the curtain, attempting to smile as if he wasn't contemplating on sending Lotor away to the other side of the Milky Way a few seconds ago. "No one?"

"You're a terrible liar, you know?" Pidge made her way down the stairs and opened the door, her small smile falling flat once she saw who was outside. "Lotor?"

"I need to talk to you about something that needs to be fixed immediately." Lotor peered inside, arching a brow as he noticed Krolia and Keith standing in the middle of the room side by side. "You have company?"

"It's nobody important, just Keith," Pidge reassured him, quickly glancing at the mentioned boy before looking up at Lotor. "Is it an issue if they're here?"

Lotor sighed. "No, not really. We aren't staying, anyways. The issue is back at my home, and I need you to come help me with it."

Pidge frowned. "Is it really that important? I have plans–"

"It is," Lotor said gravely, looking straight into her eyes. "It's very important."

She squinted her eyes in confusion before realizing what he meant, and she had the urge to scoff. He was trying so hard to keep his plan —which everyone in the house already knew of—a secret. She bit down on her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing, only nodding in response. "Let's go."

"Wait, you're not seriously going with this guy, are you?" Keith asked incredulously, his eyes wide. "We had plans–!"

"The only plan we had was to clean the treehouse out, and you guys can do that without me." She turned around to flash Keith a warning glare, the boy only pouting and looking away. "How long are we going to be at your house?"

"An hour, probably." Lotor crossed his arms. "It could be longer though, since it is rush hour, so we best be going now."

Pidge nodded and closed the door behind her as she stepped out of her house, following Lotor down the stairs into his car. She buckled her seatbelt and sat back, sending Keith one last final glance as he looked at her through the window.

Lotor got into the car and sat in the drivers seat, starting it up and driving out of the driveway, his expression stoic. Pidge glanced up at him, crossing her arms and letting out a small sigh. Lotor only sighed in response, a small smile appearing on his lips. "What is it now, Katie?"

"You don't really have an issue that has be fixed, do you?"

Lotor hummed in amusement. "Why would you say that?"

Pidge shrugged. "I don't, I just don't feel like you would have a last minute issue when you've planned out everything carefully. This isn't about your plan, is it?" She asked softly.

"Think of it as one more meeting between us before I have to leave Altea."

There was a hint of sadness in his tone as he spoke, and for some reason, it hurt her. She didn't like him at all, and hated him with all her being for what he did during their relationship, but she couldn't help but to feel sorry for him. It was sad to see how much his life had been influenced by has parents to the point where he thought revenge was the only way to fix his problems.

"Oh," she said quietly.

They sat in silence for a while, driving through the streets of Altea without even looking at each other. It was Lotor who finally broke the silence.

"I'm not going to kidnap you, if that's what you're thinking."

Pidge snorted. "Not what I was thinking, but good to know." She looked out the window, her brow raising as she watched them drive into a McDonald's parking lot. "Hold up, why are we at McDonald's?"

"The last supper," Lotor answered gravely, looking her dead in the eye.

Pidge only stared at him before the corners of her lips turned up as she started laughing, Lotor looking proud of himself for making her laugh.

"Come on, lets get something to eat." He chuckled as the two got out of his car, walking into the McDonald's together. The place was fairly empty except for a few sophomores and juniors sitting towards the front of the store. After placing their order, Pidge made her way to the back of the store and took a seat, waiting for Lotor to bring the food.

He appeared within ten minutes and sat down across from her, passing her what she had ordered. She nodded thankfully and started munching on her fries, looking at Lotor in amusement as he took a sip of his drink.

"You know, I never thought I'd ever see you in a fast food store."

"How so?" He asked, quirking a brow.

"I dunno, I just imagined you as the guy who only eats at five star restaurants." She shrugged. "Guess I was wrong."

"I stop here occasionally. I used to come here often with the girls when we were sophomores." He smiled fondly. "It's hard to believe that just two years ago I was in Galra High and was somewhat innocent. Now however..." He trailed off, a frown reappearing on his face. "Now I have to flee Altea and live my life in the shadows."

Pidge took a bite out of her chicken nugget, watching Lotor shake his head as he tried to clear his thoughts. "Enough of me, though. What are you going to do when this is all over?"

Pidge shrugged. "Go to college, meet a nice guy and do some hacking. I honestly have no clue, but I think that after this, my life is going to be pretty boring."

Lotor chuckled. "Nothing is ever boring in Altea, Katie. I'm sure that you'll find something to keep you occupied until another big event happens."

"I mean, probably." She smiled before noticing how Lotor's smile didn't reach the corner of his eyes. She frowned, lowering her gaze and staring at the table. "So you're really leaving, huh?"

Lotor nodded. "Tomorrow." Noticing her frown, he arched a brow. "Why the sad look? I thought you hated me. You even went as far as to threaten me with your 'new rules.'"

Pidge shrugged. "I don't really completely trust you, but I don't really hate you as much as I should."

"You are a strange one," Lotor murmured. "You hate me one moment, and the next you're sad that I'm leaving."

"You don't have to leave, you know," Pidge said quietly, hesitantly looking up at Lotor. "You could stop your plan and try to find a better way to do it."

"Once I've made up my mind about doing something, I'm afraid that I'm too proud to turn back and not fulfill what it is that I had planned." He sighed. "It's something that isn't going to change."

Pidge looked down in disappointment, playing with the straw of her drink. "So you're really going to kill most of the senior body, aren't you?"

Instead of replying 'yes' like she thought he would, she was surprised to hear him take in a sharp breath. He closed his eyes and let his head fall onto his knuckles, looking as if he were asleep. "No, I'm not."

"What?"

"You heard me. Tomorrow night, you have to get the seniors out of there before the bombs are set to go off." He frowned, rubbing a finger over his knuckles. "I have a feeling that things aren't going to go the way I planned them."

Pidge arched a brow, looking at him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that during one of my most recent trips to the southern part of Altea, I saw the limousine that my parents travel in when they have 'important' business matters to attend to. My parents were nowhere to be seen, and all I could make out was the shape of a person's head. The limousine fled as the person realized that I had spotted them, and I couldn't track them down once I got home." He furrowed his brows angrily. "I can't help but wonder if it was the witch who sent one of her goons after me."

Pidge frowned. "Are you sure that someone followed you?"

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"I'm not calling you a truther," Pidge answered suspiciously. "Why would someone follow you into the southern part of Altea? For all they know, you could've been traveling to meet up with some people from Galra High or something."

"I don't know," Lotor confessed, scratching the back of his neck. "I wasn't really paying attention to when they started following me. All I know is that the person was tracking me. They wouldn't have fled once I spotted them if they weren't tracking me."

Pidge frowned. "That makes no sense. The only reason why someone would follow you know would be..."

"Because they found out about my plans," Lotor said softly, disbelief evident in his tone. "That makes no sense! I...I made sure to cover my tracks!" There was anger and fear in his voice, his eyes widening as he panicked. "This can't be happening. Not now."

"Calm down, you're going to draw attention to yourself." Pidge looked up at Lotor worriedly. "Why would anyone even care about you plan? It's more like revenge, not a full blown out war. Your plan wouldn't be a reason for you to be stalked...unless they're using it for a bigger purpose." She gasped. "Holy shit."

"Haggar," Lotor growled, clenching his fists. "It has to be her. She's been obsessed with knowing my every move since I transferred back to Altea High."

"Your mom?"

"That witch is not my mother," he said sharply, furrowing his brows. "Maybe once, but not now."

Pidge frowned. "Okay okay, I'm sorry." After a brief moment of silence, she spoke up again. "What are you going to do now?"

"Make sure nobody gets in my way," he snarled, pushing his chair out and heading towards the exit. "Come on, Katie."

Pidge only sighed, pushing her bangs out of the way as she ran after him. Once they were in the car, she hesitantly looked at him. "Now are you kidnapping me?"

"I'm dropping you off home," he answered, starting up the car. "I'm going to confront that witch and find out what the hell she's planning. I don't want you getting caught in the fire anymore than you already are." He drove out of the parking lot, nearly hitting another car. The other driver honked, and Lotor only honked back, quickly joining the road and driving in the direction of her home, which was about ten minutes away.

"I'm perfectly fine going–"

"No!" Lotor cut in sharply, gripping the steering wheel harder, his nails digging into it as he made a sharp turn. "You're going home, where you won't be in danger. If she knows that I'm planning something, she's going to do something to ruin the lives of everyone involved. You don't deserve to have your life any more messed up that it already is."

"Yeah, by you." She crossed her arms. "What the hell is up with your entire family promising hell on the people who go against you and having shitty relationships?"

Lotor's brows twitched. "You think I know? I don't even want to be a part of that family, but here I am, very much alive to my father's disappointment." He let out a soft sigh, driving past Altea High. "This is probably the last time I'm going to see this a school. At least, for a long time."

He slowed down as they reached her neighborhood, his eyes lowering. "I've made mistakes that are irreparable, and I regret most of them."

"Most?" Pidge narrowed her eyes. "What would you regret? You seem like the type of guy that doesn't regret anything."

"I regret falling for you and pushing you away in favor of my plans instead of treating you like you deserved to be treated," he said quietly, turning to look at her as they came to a stop in front of her house. "I know that you won't take me back and I've accepted it, so all I can do is wish you find someone who will treat you right."

Pidge swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, her eyes wide."You make it sound like you're dying."

"I might as well be. This is a mistake. Everything, my plan is a mistake. But it is too late to rewrite what has been written. After all," he said pessimistically, "no one can rewrite the stars. I have chosen my path, and I can't be swayed." He unlocked the car doors and nodded at Pidge as she got out, the girl only looking at him with a sorrowful expression. "Until we meet again." He sped off, leaving her to watch after him silently, a million questions running through her mind.

He _cared._ He had actually cared about her by refusing to let her to accompany him to visit his parents in the outskirts of Altea. Confusion clouded her mind as she mulled over what he had said, her mind and heart fighting each other. _"I regret falling for you and pushing you away in favor of my plans instead of treating you like you deserved to be treated."_ Had he really meant it? One could never be too sure with Lotor, but for once she felt like he was telling the truth. She didn't love him, but knowing that he once loved her made her feel somewhat empty.

The blunt reality of how fucked up the world could be that it would cause someone to push their feelings away in favor of something that could be their downfall suddenly hit her, and she only crossed her arms across her chest, shaking her head to erase any sympathy that she felt for him. Her mind and heart were fighting, with her heart telling her that he wasn't really the bad person, and her logic telling her that he was the villain, just like the ones in the books she would read when she was a child. She felt sorry for him, and at the same time, she was glad to see him finally leave her in peace. There was still an unsettling feeling in the back of her mind, even though he had said that she would no longer be expected to help him.

If he said that she wasn't going to see him again until many years, why did she feel like today wasn't going to be the last day that she would see him?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Lance's screaming, her boyfriend's laughter immediately following. _Boyfriend._ Just the word made her feel all warm inside, making her temporarily forget about her Lotor worries. Instead, she only sighed softly as she made her way to the backyard, smiling as she remembered how she and Keith had come to be girlfriend and boyfriend...

* * *

"Because I fucking love you and don't know how to deal with it!"

His eyes had widened after he had spoken, and his expression screamed ' _shit, I fucked up so badly._ ' She only stared at him, her lips unmoving as she processed what he had said. He had said that he loved her. He _loved_ her. Her heart was racing, and she couldn't even form a proper sentence. The only thing she could say was one word, and she knew that it was only going to make Keith feel more of a fuck up then he was already feeling.

" _What_?" She croaked out, her throat dry and her eyes wide. It felt like time had slowed down, the seconds taking too long to pass. Through the span of five seconds, she had gone from feeling shocked, to happy, and finally, to feeling unsure. She heard Keith let out a small squeak, the boy surprised that she hadn't slammed her window shut on him.

"I didn't say anything," he responded quickly, attempting to change the conversation. "Say, why don't we go to sleep? It's getting kinda late, and I've got a really long day tomorrow–"

"No," she cut in sharply, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, biting her lip. "What did you say?"

"I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry."

"Repeat what you said," she demanded, scrunching her eyes tightly and putting her hands on her windowsill.

"It was–"

"Please," she begged, her voice barely above a whisper. "Just do it."

Keith became aware of how dry his lips were and he licked them nervously. "I said that I love you, and I don't know how to deal with it." He watched her shudder, as if her room had suddenly turned into an igloo. _You fucked up_ , the voice in his head kept repeating. _You fucked up so bad._

"Why?"

"What do you mean?" He asked slowly, taken aback by her question.

"Why do you love me?" She opened her eyes and looked straight into his eyes, amber eyes meeting dark purple eyes. "Tell me, Keith," she urged, her voice cracking. "I want to know why."

Keith was at loss for words. He had never seen her be this vulnerable before, and it was scaring him. He knew her for being strong, always knowing what to say and what to do. She was a genius, and she rarely let anyone see her break down and cry. The only time he had really seen her be so vulnerable was when they had argued back in November, and when she had made up with him in March after they had ignored each other for a painful four months.

What was he supposed to say? If he said something wrong, she would either never speak to him again, or he would have to deal with the constant awkwardness between them for another four years.

"Please."

He let out a sigh. "What am I supposed to say? Am I supposed to explain why I love you like it's nothing? What's going to happen after? Are we going to live with constant awkwardness between us for another four years? Are you going to hate me?" He scoffed. "Who am I kidding? Of course you're going to hate me!"

"Why are you so sure about that?" She asked quietly. "You don't know what's going to happen. Neither do I, but I want you to tell me why you love me."

He sighed frustratedly. "You really won't give up, will you?"

"Please."

He shook his head. "Fine. What am I supposed to say? That I've loved you since we were fifteen? That you've always been the only girl I've ever noticed? That the entire time we weren't talking to each other was the worst experience I've ever had to go through? Is that what you want to hear?"

"No."

"Then what?! I love you, and I didn't tell you because I wanted to avoid this exact moment!"

"Why did you want to avoid it?"

"Because it's too much for me to explain!" He yelled, throwing his hands up. He took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. "You want to know the truth?"

" _Everything._ "

"Fine." He took another deep breath. "Ever since we were kids, I knew that you were going to be one of the most important people in my life. You've always been someone that I've admired, even though I hated you in the beginning. Everything you do makes me fall a little bit more in love with your and I don't know how to deal with it."

"When you laugh, it makes any shitty day feel less shitty. When you smile and laugh because of something I said, I feel so happy knowing that I was the one who made you laugh. I fell in love with all of you, your imperfections included. The way you act so hardcore makes me realize how strong you are, especially since the whole Shiro and Matt thing happened. When you cry, I want to hug you forever and protect you from all the bullshit that's being thrown at you."

"I've fallen hard for you, and it scares me how badly I want to be with you. I love your personality, I love how you can be cute and serious at the same time, I love you for you, even though you probably don't love me back. I'm a sucker for everything you do, and for you in general. If I lost you, I wouldn't stop looking until I've found you. You're all I think about now, and it's starting to hurt," he confessed, running a hand through his hair.

"Are you going to say anything?" Keith asked, looking at her nervously, the girl standing there silently. "Or are you just going to stand there and say nothing?"

"You're joking," she finally said, scoffing. "You have to be kidding me!"

"Why?" Keith's anxiety had started to act up, and all he wanted to do was crawl under a rock and die.

She started laughing, running a hand through her hair. "You're joking!"

"I'm not..." He looked at her worriedly. "Are you okay?"

She only laughed harder. "I'm fine! Everything is great! Better than great, actually!"

"I'm kinda having a nervous breakdown over here, Pidge. Mind telling me what the hell that's supposed to mean before I jump out the window?"

"All this time I thought that I was an idiot for thinking I ever had a chance with you, but now that you're saying you love me, I feel so insanely happy." She laughed. "Holy fuck, Keith," she said, her smile wide. "Holy _fuck_."

"I'm still really confused. Are you going to hate me for the rest of your life?"

"No!" She grinned, the corners of her eyes crinkling. "It means that I'm going to love you for the rest of my life because I've fucking loved you since we were kids!"

Keith's eyes widened, his mouth agape as he stared at her in shock. "You're telling me I spent this entire time worrying that you didn't like me back for nothing?!"

She only laughed in response. She felt so insanely happy, and she couldn't do anything other than laugh. It felt like she had some kind of closure to her pining, as if an era of unrequited feelings was finally over. In a way, it sort of was. She felt happy, so insanely happy, realizing that Keith loved her back. That only left her with one question:

"What do we do now?"

* * *

She pushed the backyard door open and was immediately tackled by Lance, a scream escaping her lips as she fell backwards, kicking the poor boy in the balls as she tried to wriggle her way out of his grasp.

"Get off!"

" _¡Mierda eso dolió!_ " Lance whined, doubling over on his knees. "Why do you have to be so violent?!"

"You tackled me for no reason!"

"Actually, he had a reason," Keith intervened, walking up to her with a smirk on his face. "Matt bet that Lance couldn't hug you for more than five seconds, and the dumbass decided to tackle you."

Pidge rolled her eyes in amusement. "Why am I not surprised," she muttered dryly. Looking down at Lance, she winced when she heard him let out a pitiful moan of pain. "I'm kinda sorry, but also not sorry at all."

"You are a monster dressed as a nerd," Lance moaned, throwing himself back on the grass. "Someone help! I've fallen and I can't get up!"

"This isn't a life alert ad, Lance," Shiro called out from his place inside the treehouse. "Get up and start cleaning out your stuff from the treehouse."

Lance groaned, getting up and wincing as he walked. "Pidge, I'm going to sue you if I can't have kids in the future."

"One kick isn't going to leave you sterile, you idiot." She rolled her eyes, making her way to the treehouse with Keith next to her. "If anything, you'd just have a bruise for a week. Damn, better tell your girlfriend before she–"

"Stop!" He whined, stomping his left foot on the ground. "I haven't even done anything like that with Plax! We're taking this slow, for your information," he snootily replied. "Besides, even if we were doing something, at least I would be getting way more action than you."

Keith cocked his head to the side, arching a brow. "You? Getting action? And I thought Matt was a liar," he mused out loud, shrugging. "Guess we have two liars now."

Lance gasped offendedly. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"I'm not calling you a truther," Keith flared back, grinning satisfactorily once he saw Lance stick out his tongue and climb the treehouse. "Anyways, that's that." He turned to face Pidge, the shorter girl looking up at him with an amused smile. "So what did daddy issues want?"

"A last supper, apparently," Pidge replied in annoyance. "The guy acts like he's going to die, which is funny but kinda depressing."

Keith snorted. "If you ask me, he deserves to rot, whether it be in prison or hell."

Pidge lowered her gaze, staring at the lawn. "Yeah..."

Keith frowned, raising a hand and placing it gently on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked, worry evident in his tone. "What's on your mind?"

"A lot," she confessed, scaling up the stairs to reach the others. "There's a lot going on in my mind, but I won't burden you with it."

"Hey, I want to know what's going on," Keith prodded gently, climbing up the stairs after her. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't care."

"Yeah, well–"

"Okay you two love birds, hurry up before we just dump everything out of the treehouse," Matt called out, grinning as he peered out over the two. "Most of the things here are yours, anyways."

"You're so wrong," Pidge retorted, climbing into the treehouse and helping Keith get inside. "Most of them are yours."

"I'd say that fifty percent of the things in here belong to you and Keith alone," Matt pointed out, his grin only growing. "You two do seem to spend a lot of time alone up here, if you know what I– ow! Shiro!" Matt pouted, rubbing the spot where Shiro had thrown a small rock at. 

Shiro only shrugged, Allura leaning against him as she read an old magazine that she had found in the treehouse. "I don't want to even think of anything like that, Matt. Keith is pure."

"Yeah. Pure dick," Lance retorted, poking Pidge's side with his elbow. "Am I right?"

"You're going to be right in a hospital bed if you don't zip it," she hissed, her cheeks bright red.

"So Keith!" Lance chirped, clearly trying to avoid talking to the shorter girl, "why do you have so many old drawings stuffed in here? We found a ton in the secret spot that isn't such a secret."

Keith shrugged, taking a seat next to Hunk and pulling out his old sketchbook from the pile that was in the middle of the floor. "It's not a ton, Lance. It's just one old sketchbook." He smiled fondly. "I think that this was the only one I never finished drawing in."

"Well the drawings are beautiful," Hunk interjected, a smile on his face. "I like the one on the second page the best, though. It's uh, pretty interesting," he teased, waggling his brows.

Keith rolled his eyes and playfully shoved the other boy, opening the sketchbook and flipping through the pages. "Most of these drawings are just things I drew so that I would never forget our good times together."

Pidge grinned. "Aw, how sweet," she teased, laughing as Keith flicked her off. "I'm not joking, though. That's pretty sweet. What have you drawn?"

"Other than 'Katie Kogane' in big letters on page two? A lot, actually," Hunk replied, not allowing the raven haired boy to respond.

"Hunk!"

"You are now my favorite person," Lance said gleefully, patting Hunk on the back.

Pidge only rolled her eyes, reaching for the sketchbook. "Let me see the other drawings."

"How is she completely unfazed about the fact that Keith doodled 'Katie Kogane' in his sketchbook?" Lance asked Hunk, looking at him in confusion. "It's like she doesn't even care that he likes her back!"

Hunk only hummed in response, looking between the two in question suspiciously. "Hmm..." He turned to Lance, arching a brow. "Do you know where she keeps her diary?"

"You are not going through my diary," Pidge said exasperatedly, shaking her head as she eyed him wearily. "Seriously, that shit is private." She flipped through the pages of Keith's sketchbook, the raven haired boy placing an arm on her shoulder.

"That's the drawing from when we met that guy in sixth grade who thought Allura was a goddess after he came over for my birthday party," Keith said, pointing at the drawing that Pidge was looking at.

"Oh that little guy! What was his name again? Klaizap? What a cute little guy." Hunk smiled. "What do you think ever happened to him?"

"Went to Arusian High most likely," Allura called out from her place next to Shiro. "That's what I heard, anyways."

"Well, he wasn't wrong by calling Allura a goddess," Shiro huffed. "She's an actual angel that fell from heaven."

Lance snorted. "Yeah, he was called Klaizap. Keith tried to beat him up even though he was the size of a peanut," Lance grinned.

"He was the strongest person out of his entire class!"

The group laughed and Pidge flipped to another page, a smile making its way to her face. "Holy shit," she laughed, "this is from that once time you made Lance's underwear go up the flagpole!"

"That was the best moment in our entire pranking history," Keith replied, a shit eating grin on his face. "Right Lance?"

Lance pouted, glaring playfully at him. "It was most certainly not the best moment! The best moment was when we placed a whoopee cushion under Coran's chair during sophomore year. The look on his face was priceless!"

"That was you guys?" Allura quirked a brow, a grin on her face. "He always checks his chairs before he sits because of the whole whoopee cushion incident! It's hysterical but a bit sad," she chuckled. 

Pidge grinned. "He looked so shocked that I thought I was going to die of laughter."

"Remember last year when we had that huge food fight with some guys from the rival team during the school camping trip because they were throwing some weird kind of food goo at us?" Lance chuckled. 

"That was horrifying and terrible! It was so slimy!" Hunk shuddered, sticking out his tongue in disgust before smiling. "But we won of course, so I guess it wasn't that terrible."

The others chuckled, reminiscing about their memories together. They fell into silence, looking at the sketchbook in Keith's hands thoughtfully. 

It was Pidge who broke the silence. 

"So what's everybody thinking about?"

"Lotor."

"Calzones."

They entire group, including Allura and Matt, turned to look at Hunk, confusion clearly written all over their expressions.

"What?" Hunk asked defensively. "I get Lotor is a bad guy, but I don't want to think about the guy every single minute of the day! That'd just be creepy."

Pidge chuckled softly. "Hey Hunk, remember that one time in robotics class last year when we made that robotic cube thing that almost erased all the data from the school servers?"

"Oh, you mean that horrible cube thing," Lance said in disgust. "It was like it had a mind of its own! I almost died!"

"You mean that cool cube thing?" Matt asked, grinning from ear to ear. "Ah, there's my baby sister. Going off to destroy school records," he sniffed, pretending to wipe a tear away. "They...they grow up so fast!" He exclaimed, pretending to cry into Shiros' shoulder.

Pidge only rolled her eyes playfully, a smile on her face. "Sophomore and junior year were definitely the best years of education that I've ever gotten."

Keith nodded, staring at the sketchbook in her hands. "We've definitely come a long way. We aren't awkward teenagers anymore."

"Yeah, all of us except you," Lance teased. He arched a brow as Pidge flipped the page to one of Keith's latest drawings, reaching out to grab the sketchbook out of her hands. "Woah! What's that?"

"Some designs I made for Voltron paladin suits," Keith said nonchalantly, taking the sketchbook from PIdge's hands and passing his fingers over the designs carefully. "It took me a while to come up with them, but they're kinda cool. I thought that we could add it to our project for the competition since it's like, five days away."

Shiro hummed in response. "Speaking of Voltron..."

The others immediately looked up at him, ready to hear what he was going to say. 

"Yeah?" Keith asked, coaxing Shiro into talking more, "What is it?"

"You guys realize that after the whole project is over, not only will we have probably won the science fair, but Team Voltron won't be needed to protect Altea High anymore, right?"

Lance lowered his eyes, staring at his hands. "We can go to college peacefully."

"We can have a normal life with normal relationships," Pidge murmured, brushing her fingers against Keith's hands.

"I guess we could try to forget about everything that happened this year," Keith said quietly, lowering his gaze to the pile in the middle of the floor. 

"We can live normal lives again," Hunk breathed out, looking down at his hands. "Wow."

"This is it. As long as everything goes according to plan, we can't fail." Shiro instinctively reached for Allura's hand, the woman squeezing his hand as they intertwined their fingers.

They _had_ to win. Their future depended on it. Everything depended on their victory. The life of every student was in their hands, and the future of Altea itself was also in their hands. They couldn't afford to lose. Not now.

Not ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaahhhh this chapter got kinda long and I'm so sorry about that lolol. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	35. Fall of The Castle of Lions - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prom night is here, and nerves are running wild as the hour for crowning the prom king and queen nears. Pidge has a confrontation with someone she hoped she'd never see again, and Lotor might not be as much of a jackass as he seemed. Meanwhile, Lance confides in Coran with some confidential feelings and both males get more than they bargained for by the end of their conversation.

Lance nervously rolled the window up and down with his right hand, watching it move with a perturbed expression. He tapped his foot rapidly on the car floor, drumming his fingers on his thigh with his left hand. He watched them drive past the trees and houses, grunting as he saw them pass his own house.

"Lance, will you _stop_ fidgeting?" Pidge demanded, glaring at her taller friend. "You're making me want to scream!"

"Well I'm sorry that I'm worried about staying alive!" Lance snapped, hitting the window button harshly, making the window slam shut. "I'm nervous!"

"Well so am I, but I'm not sliding a window up and down and fidgeting, am I?!"

"No, but you're rambling about something under your breath," Keith remarked, butting into the conversation. "The amount of times that I've heard you say 'ass' should concern me, but at this point, it really doesn't."

"Ass," she hissed. "Tonight is going to be ass."

Keith snorted. "Tonight is going to be shit, you mean, and it's because of your psychotic ex–"

She put a finger up to his lips, successfully cutting him off. "We're not doing that again."

"But it's true," Allura sullenly remarked, slouching in her seat. "We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't started to fuck around with Lotor, but here we are now and we're all going to die." Her eyes suddenly widened and she clung onto Shiro's arm, burying her face into his shoulder. "I don't want to die yet."

"You're not going to," Shiro replied firmly, wrapping his left arm around her back. He looked up at Keith and Hunk, who looked taken aback by her sudden mood swing. He sheepishly smiled, shrugging. "Mood swings?"

Pidge only rolled her eyes, exchanging a knowing look with Matt, who was sitting next to her. He sighed in response, letting his shoulders sag.

"I can't believe we're all going to freaking die."

"Matt!"

"What? It's the truth!"

"Will you all stop complaining about dying?" Krolia interjected, letting out a breath of annoyance. "I've fought crime lords and I'm still alive, so fighting one crazy teenager using fake bombs isn't going to be much of a problem. Nobody is going to die."

"Yeah, because you've been trained to do stuff like that," Hunk retorted, crossing his arms across his chest. "No offense, but we can barely stay alive falling out of a treehouse, and we all saw what happened when Keith tried to fight one of Lotor's goons last time..."

"Hey!" Keith said indignantly, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means that you can't hold your own in a fight," Lance retorted, quirking a brow. "Not like there's much of a surprise there, if you ask me."

"At least I have some form of protecting myself," Keith flared back. "I have less of a chance of dying than you do because I actually put time into–"

"Into stabbing your tree?" Lance snorted, looking at Keith dully. "Yeah, I think I'd rather fight with my hands than stab someone and have to deal with the lawsuit."

Pidge rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Ladies, you're both under average fighters, so can you both just zip it? I'm trying to stay calm and your stupid arguing isn't helping!"

Krolia hummed. "Hm. Perhaps you two are right." She crossed her arms, nodding her head in Keith's direction. "Keith, I'll be your personal escort tonight."

"What?" Keith asked in disbelief, his mouth agape. "I do not need to be babysat! I'm eighteen; I'm legal!"

"Yeah, well, I'm more legal than you," Krolia retorted. "I've had experience with partners like you, and they always find a way to screw something up. We can't afford to lose this mission, so I'm just going to stay this loud and clear, okay? The mission comes first, not your feelings."

"I would never–!"

"Feelings are a luxury that we simply can't afford tonight," Krolia said sharply. "If you want to see the next sunrise, then I suggest you all listen to the rule and follow it."

Hunk arched a brow, slinking closer towards Pidge. "She changed her tone to sound more like Kolivan almost as quickly as you change your opinion on your ex."

Pidge raised a hand, waving him off. "Please, let me live."

"I mean it's hard for you to live if the ex boyfriend in question is the one who's going to–"

"I said, shut up!" She roared, glaring up at Hunk. "I don't need to be reminded of my mistakes!"

Keith's eyes widened and he slid closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fucking peachy. Just peachy." She sunk down in her seat, glaring out the large limousine window. "Just peachy," she repeated, as if trying to reassure herself that she was, in fact, fine.

Keith frowned. "I don't think–"

"I'm fine!" She snarled, harshly twisting her body away from him. "Just...leave me alone."

Hurt flashed across Keith's features as he inched away from her, giving her personal space. Looking away, he leaned his head back and let out a sigh.

He knew that she was only acting snappy because of Lotor, but it didn't stop him from feeling hurt by her rejection. Just yesterday they had been holding hands, but now, she didn't even want to look in his direction.

Was he doing something wrong? He hadn't said anything that would offend her in the last twenty four hours—at least, he didn't think so. Her mood had changed almost as quick as Allura's, and by now, both women were scaring him.

Keith glanced up at Krolia, who only shook her head disapprovingly, nodding her heads towards Pidge's tense figure. He let out a small grunt of annoyance, shaking his head at the older woman.

"So...anyone want to play a game?"

Glares were sent in Hunk's direction and the boy raised his hands in front of him defensively.

"Okay, okay, I was just asking!"

"Maybe on the ride back home," Shiro suggested, a small smile on his face.

"If we even make it home," Lance mumbled, glancing out the window. He immediately grimaced as the car slowed down to a stop in front of the Castle of Lions.

" _Mierda._ "

Allura stretched her legs out in front of her, solemnly looking out the window at the building, which was decorated on the outside with the school flag colors. The building looked more less like a building and more like a castle, living up to its name. It was silver colored with black and light blue streaks, the large wooden doors in the front in between two large marble pillars.

"I never thought I'd ever feel such hatred for a place that I attended for four years," Shiro said softly, glaring at the wooden doors. "I hate this place."

"Now you know how I feel with high school," Keith muttered under his breath.

"What time is it?" Hunk asked, looking around as everyone started picking up their small bags. "Uh, guys? Hello?"

"Goodbye," Pidge replied crossly, making her way through the limo towards the door where Lance was.

"Move." She pushed the boy out of the way and pushed the door open, stepping out quickly. Her dress trailed on the floor behind her, the lights on the outside of the building illuminating the front, where students were being checked for weapons or drugs.

She snorted, moving to the side and allowing Lance to open the car door.

The boy pushed the door open, glaring up at the building. Shiro and Allura followed after him, leaning against the side of the limousine. Matt, Krolia, Hunk and Keith came out after them, each standing next to Pidge.

"We're here," Keith said in an emotionless tone, even though he was feeling twenty different emotions on the inside.

"I can't believe you guys actually get a nice prom and it's going to be ruined by some crazy guy." Matt sighed, glaring at the banners hanging above the entrance. "Prom? More like death sentence."

"You can say that again," Lance muttered, glancing suspiciously at the security guards. "Are they with the Blade?"

"Every security guard here today has been replaced by a member of the Blade," Krolia said, putting a hand on Keith's shoulder. "Remember, you're sticking with me, and so is Katie. The rest of you know what you're doing, correct?"

"Hunk and I are going to follow Coran around the entire time, right?" Lance questioned.

"Correct. Meanwhile, Shiro and Allura will be in charge of spotting Lotor and his group at the front entrance. It is vital that they be spotted before we proceed to sweep the area clean before we arrest them, just in case Lotor didn't fall for the fake bomb trick," Krolia responded.

"Do you think some people that actually live on campus are gonna try to sneak in?" Hunk whispered into Lance's ear, the Cuban only shaking his head in response.

"It's a fifty fifty chance."

"Guys, be quiet!" Keith snapped, pointing in the direction where the cars were entering campus. "More people are coming!"

"We get this nice prom and we can't even enjoy it," Hunk complained. "Why does this always happen to us?"

"It won't happen if you all shut up and play your parts," Pidge hissed, stepping away from the group and walking up the front steps of the building.

"What do you see in her again?" Lance asked Keith, the raven haired boy only glaring at him in response.

Keith motioned for Krolia to follow him as he made his way up the steps behind Pidge, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his pants. She followed him, only nodding in response.

"Why do you think Krolia paired them together?" Hunk questioned suspiciously, eyeing the three retreating figures.

"Mother knows best," Shiro murmured under his breath. Allura's eyes widened and she looked up at him in confusion, Shiro shaking his prosthetic and wrapping his other arm around her shoulders.

"I'll tell you later."

"So does anyone know exactly what we're supposed to do?" Lance questioned irritatedly, crossing his arms across his chest. "I don't want to walk into my death just because I didn't know what to do."

"You and Hunk will be following Coran and helping him with whatever he needs. You have your phones, right?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah...?"

"Well, if anything suspicious happens, then you have to call us. Allura and I will alert the Blades that are nearby. Meanwhile, we'll be in charge of getting everyone out with Plaxum and Shay's help if anything does happen."

"So what are Pidge and Keith doing?"

"Lotor hunting," Shiro replied grimly.

"Oh come on! They get the exciting things?! That's not fair!" Lance complained. "We have to follow Coran around and they get to freaking take down the mastermind!"

"To be fair, Pidge is the one who knows him the best."

"Shiro, I'm going to stop you right there." Allura put a finger up to his lips and led him up the stairs towards the entrance. "We need to be in there and ready."

"Fair point." Shiro followed her inside, leaving Hunk and Lance to stare at each other sullenly. Matt only flashed them a peace sign as he jogged up the stairs behind the couple, the two boys looking after him with betrayed looks. 

"Soooooo. Which one of us is going to try and find Coran?" Hunk asked Lance once Allura was out of earshot.

"Ugh."

* * *

Keith weaved his way throughout the crowd that had started to form inside the party hall, grunting out an apology as he stepped on ten different girl's dresses.

"Sorry!"

"My bad."

"Fuck, my bad."

He finally emerged on the other side of the room, letting out a breath of relief as he spotted Pidge and Krolia eyeing him up and down.

"What?"

"We heard like ten different girls yell 'my dress!' in the past three minutes," Pidge responded, quirking a brow. "You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?"

"Maybe."

Krolia shook her head. "I don't understand why it took you so long to get back from the snack table. Your mission was literally just to get cookies."

"It's impossible when girls dressed up like fucking peacocks! I swear, there's like fifty girls here that have a dress that takes up most of the space around them!" Keith screeched exasperatedly, waving his hands in the air. "Who the hell thought of letting this slide?!"

"Coran," Pidge simply replied, plucking a cookie out of his hand. "Thanks for the food, by the way."

"I had no choice. You forced me to get it."

"What, did you actually expect me to go there by myself?" Pidge asked incredulously. "I'd be trampled alive."

Keith grinned. "Aha! So you do admit that you're short!"

"Only when it works in my favor." Pidge leaned against the wall, watching Rolo amp up the volume of the music and various girls trip over their dresses while trying to get on the dance floor. "Oh look, they're all leaving the snack table."

"They look like seagulls that close in on you when you have food," Keith mused aloud, causing the girl at his side to snort in amusement. "What? It's true!"

"If you two are done flirting, we should start scouting the halls for any signs of Lotor," Krolia said, interrupting their fun. "It's getting very crowded. His group will be using this to their advantage to walk around with arousing suspicion."

"We've been here for an hour and nothing has happened," Keith responded, a small frown on his face. "Can't we just stay here five more minutes?"

"No."

"But it's five minutes!"

"Keith, a lot can happen in five minutes," Krolia replied crossly. "Do I have to remind you that we have a strict plan? We have no time for–"

"For fun, I know, but maybe we could–"

"Keith, I said no!" Krolia snapped, glaring down at the raven haired boy.

Keith's eyes widened and he frowned. Pidge looked between Krolia and Keith, her eyes wide as saucers.

"Uh yeah, okay! We've had our fun, but now it's time to work on the plan." She took Keith's hand into her own and squeezed it gently, looking up at him in concern. "We'll celebrate later once everything is over, okay?"

He only grunted in response and made his way out of the main room, Pidge being dragged away by his sudden death grip on her hand. Krolia followed the two, the trio making their away from the party and down the almost empty halls.

Pidge looked down at her and Keith's intertwined hand, poking him lightly on the shoulder with her free hand. "Keith?"

"What?"

"You're breaking my hand."

"Shit." He let go of her hand and crossed his arms, looking down at the ground as they walked. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." She looped an arm around his arm, peering up at him on concern. "My real question is, are you fine?"

"Peachy. Just fucking peachy," he replied stiffly, refusing to look at her.

Pidge let out a huff of annoyance. "You're clearly not fucking peachy, and I want to know why. I care about you, you know."

Keith only furrowed his brows, determined to not look at the girl. There were too many things going through his mind, and Krolia having an attitude with him was _not_ helping. If anything, it was only making him more agitated than he already was.

He was worried about how simple everything looked to the naked eye. It was almost like everything was being set up for disaster.

He shuddered. Tonight was just getting more nerve wrecking as the minutes ticked by. The clock striking eight fifteen, and he suddenly felt like the minutes were passing by quickly on purpose to speed up their death sentence.

"Who's phone is ringing?" Krolia asked, interrupting Keith's train of thought.

Pidge looked down at her small purse and frowned, picking up her phone and placing it to her ear. "Lance? Why are you calling me?"

" _I know I'm supposed to be taking care of Coran and all that, but you didn't mention that I'd have to listen to all his crazy stories!_ "

"You should've know that that comes with purchase," Keith muttered under his breath.

Pidge shook her head. "Lance, seriously, you're only supposed to call for emergencies. Is that all you have to say?"

" _Oh no, I also heard Coran saying that some buffs were spotted walking along campus. Said they looked like they were 'heavily built' and 'probably Galra.'_ "

"Why the hell didn't you mention that first?!"

" _Hey, it's all up to speculation! What's the big deal, anyways? Lotor's the guy we're tracking down, not some buff guys. Security can take them down for sure,_ " Lance said dismissively.

"Lance, this is serious! Lotor said that some guys tracked him yesterday and he has no idea who they are. These guys could be allies to Zarkon!" She groaned in frustration, running a hand through her hair. "Is Alfor here?"

" _He's been talking to Allura the entire time. There's no sign of Lotor, though. It's been pretty quiet—well, unless you count all the screaming people on the dance floor." He paused. "Wait, Shiro's walking over here...without Allura? What the hell_?"

Pidge suddenly tensed up, Keith looking at her in concern.

"Are you okay?"

"Lance, don't leave me hanging!"

" _Pidge? You need to start checking the rooms now_ ," Shiro's voice demanded over the phone.

"What? Why? Lotor isn't even here yet!"

" _That's a funny joke. I just saw two of the four girls in Lotor's group sneak through the crowd in the direction of the bathroom upstairs. If they're here..._ "

"Then Lotor's here," Pidge whispered. "No," she mumbled in disbelief. "I told him–!"

" _He obviously found out that it was a lie then if he's here early. Look, if they're in the main room, then that means that everything is set and they're just waiting for the fake bombs to go off–ow, Allura_!"

" _Lotor's here, I just saw him walk in and sneak around the snack table!_ "

"He can't do much damage. The bombs are fake." Keith pushed his hair out of his face. "All we have to do is catch him, right?"

"If he figured out that we gave him the wrong time, then what makes you think that he doesn't know that the bombs are fake?" Pidge hissed, frustration evident in her tone. "I told you, he's not going to fall for our tricks, but does anyone listen? Of course you don't fucking listen!"

" _Prom queen and king are declared at nine thirty, about an hour and a half before the party is supposed to be over. You have less than an hour to find Lotor and make sure the bastard is locked up_ ," Allura's voice said through the speaker of the phone. " _Every room has to be checked, and I'm going to make sure there are guards with my father and Coran–_ "

" _Hey! I'm a good bodyguard!_ "

" _Official bodyguard, Lance. Pidge, you have to make sure he's done with before a tragedy happens._ "

"Allura, we'll do everything we can to catch him, but take it easy. You're not in a condition to be over stressed," Pidge said worriedly. "We'll track him down. In the meanwhile, try to calm down, for your...father's sake." She hesitated, almost saying 'baby' instead.

" _I'll try._ "

Allura hung up and Pidge whirled around, facing Krolia, extremely pissed.

"Is this what you wanted for your stupid plan?! I told you, Lotor isn't an idiot. He doesn't fall for plans without double checking, and there was only so much I could do! If we die, is going to be on your hands!" She snarled, pointing a finger in Krolia's direction before spinning on her heels and storming off in the direction of the stairs.

"Pidge! Where are you going?" Keith called out, trying to catch up with his girlfriend. "We have to–!"

"I'm going to get my inside knowledge from a few old enemies," she hissed, her tone deadly.

Keith stopped following her and she sped up her pace, taking a shortcut across one of the connecting halls that would take her to the stairs where Shiro said he had spotted two of the girls.

* * *

Ezor sat on the bathroom sink, leaning against one of the mirrors, closing her eyes and groaning out loud. 

"I'm bored," Ezor complained. "How much longer do we have to just sit here?"

"Until Lotor decides what our next move is," Acxa replied, leaning against the door that she had locked.

"While he's out there pondering we could be conquering!" Zethrid growled from inside one of the stalls where she was angrily playing on her phone. "If we play our cards right and start taking out the security guards one by one and ditch Lotor, then we could get off scot free and not go to prison!"

Ezor scoffed. "You think we can avoid prison? We have so much evidence against us."

Acxa inhaled sharply. "No one is going to prison or ditching Lotor! We just have to sit here and wait for orders."

Ezor sighed disappointedly from her spot on the sink and glanced in Zethrid's direction.

"Wanna throw things at the security guards?"

"Yesss."

Acxa rolled her eyes, turning to look at Narti for help. The other girl only shrugged from her position next to her before stepping to the side.

Acxa arched a brow. "Wha–oof!" She was knocked to ground as the door was kicked open behind her, all four girls turning their attention towards the intruder.

"You have some _fucking_ explaining to do," Pidge hissed, standing in the doorframe menacingly.

Zethrid immediately opened the bathroom stall and poked her head out, eyes wide. "Is that–?"

"Me? Oh hell yes it is," Pidge spat out, shutting the door behind her and locking it. She picked Acxa up by the collar, the other girl clawing at Pidge's arm. "You're the leader; explain what the _fuck_ is going on before I fucking stab you to death!"

"Let go!" Acxa snarled, tearing Pidge's hand off her dress. "I don't have to tell you _anything_. I don't care if you're someone special to my brother; I'll end you before you even get a chance to try and stop Lotor," she sneered.

"Why are you here?" Ezor asked incredulously. "I thought that with your fake bombs that you gave us you wouldn't bother to even try to show up."

Pidge scowled. "So you did find out about the fake bombs. Where the hell is Lotor?!"

"Ruining prom like he said he would. You don't have to know his every move," Acxa responded coldly. "After all," she jeered, "you aren't talking to us or dating Lotor anymore."

"So you were being a fake bitch all along," Pidge responded lowly, her tone dark. "I never should've expected you to change your ways."

Acxa crossed her arms. "It's called loyalty and freedom. I'm keeping everything he's doing a secret to save myself from going to prison."

"That's your problem. You always think of yourself, and never about anyone else around you! Do you see how many people are down there? They came for the best time of their lives, and there's some psychotic asshole running around planting bombs just so he can take revenge out on three people! Do you ever realize how flawed his ideology is?!" Pidge questioned in disbelief. "He's going to kill innocent people, and you're going to be bystanders and do absolutely fucking nothing!" She yelled.

Ezor and Zethrid looked away from her, ashamed that what she was saying was true. Narti only stared at Pidge with an unreadable expression, glancing between her and Acxa, who was glaring daggers into Pidge's soul.

"You care too much," Acxa declared.

"You care too fucking little," Pidge retorted sharply. "All my life, I've been taught to care about others and not just about myself. It's so fucking obvious that you're never going to amount to be anything in life except a fucking coward who takes orders and hides behind one guy instead of doing something about your own pathetic life!"

Acxa glared at her. "You really think you have a right to tell me how wrong I am? Look at yourself before telling me that my choices are wrong. You're so quick to abandon those who were at your side when bad things happen, and you change friends like toys. You aren't an angel, and you're frankly annoying."

"Acxa," Ezor hissed, attempting to kick her girlfriend.

"No, Ezor!" Acxa shouted. "We were sincere with our apologies, but since Lotor favored you and let you off without a hitch, you think that you suddenly have a right to act like you're above us. You never really experienced what it meant to be tied to Lotor, and that's why you can't understand what we're doing. You're a stupid and entitled asshole who thinks she can say what she wants just because she doesn't have anything to lose!"

Pidge growled, seething with anger. "You fucking _bitch_!"

Without a warning, she jumped on Acxa, tackling the taller girl. Both girls fell on the ground, Pidge harshly pressing her forearm against Acxa's neck. Acxa sneered at Pidge, not bothering to get the shorter girl's arm off.

"You really think you can get me to talk? I have loyalty, something you don't!"

"If you don't fucking talk I'll make sure to have you rot in prison you fucking bitch! Start talking!" Pidge demanded, pressing her arm closer to her neck.

Ezor and Zethrid only watched the entire thing go down with wide eyes, shocked at how angry the small girl was with Acxa.

"He's in one of the rooms near the end of the hall on this floor," Narti suddenly interrupted, much to Acxa's horror. "The room next to the staircase."

Pidge only growled and nodded, shoving her forearm deeper into Acxa's neck one last time before getting up and sprinting out of the bathroom, leaving the girls to look after her in disbelief.

"Why the hell didn't you tell her?!" Ezor demanded, helping Acxa up from the floor. "You could've–!"

"I could've been many things, but a snitch isn't one of them. Lotor said that if she found him, he'd tell her what his actual plan is," Acxa replied stiffly, dusting her dress off. "He made his orders clear."

"You didn't have to play bad cop and make her think that we weren't on her side!" Zethrid screeched, pulling on the edges of her hair. "Now she's going to think we didn't mean anything we ever said!"

"The mission comes first, remember?" Acxa reminded her, walking over towards the mirror slowly. "Was I convincing enough? I thought I may have gone a little easy on her."

"Where the hell did you get your acting skills from?" Ezor asked as she watched Acxa move. "That was like, some seriously great acting. I'd be surprised if she didn't fall for it!"

"I bet it was her mom," Zethrid replied. "The woman is a doctor, right? Those people are always dramatic, especially on tv."

Ezor chuckled, looking at Acxa worriedly upon noticing the small frown etched on her features. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Acxa pushed her hair out of her face, staring at herself in the mirror with a stoic expression.

"I'm fine."

* * *

Lotor grabbed a magazine off one of the desks, opening it and flipping through the pages. He had received a message from Zethrid, warning him that Pidge was here and on her way to strangle him, and instead of trying to run away, he decided to stay in the dimly lit room, waiting for the girl to arrive.

She must be pretty angry if Zethrid had warned him to not say anything wrong or attempt to play bad cop good cop with her, he mused.

As soon as that thought left his mind, there was banging on the door and feet kicking the bottom.

"Open the fucking door you fucking cunt and talk to me face to face instead of hiding like a fucking coward!"

Oh, so she _had_ arrived. Lotor shook his head, walking towards the door and leaning against it hesitantly.

"What would I earn from letting you in?"

"Listen here you fucking prick–!"

She was cut off by her own scream as the door was opened, falling onto the floor ungracefully as Lotor looked down at her with a solemn face. The door was shut behind her, leaving the two alone and face to face with one another.

"Not so threatening once you're on the ground, are you?" Lotor mocked, crossing his arms across his chest. "And here I was, thinking that I'd never get to see you again."

"You're a fucking idiot if you think I'm letting any single one of those bombs go off!" Pidge hissed, getting up on her knees and drawing a small pocketknife that she had stolen from Keith, unbeknownst to him. "I know you know the ones Thace gave you are fake, and I know that you obviously have something planned to make sure that nothing stands in your way."

Lotor chuckled lowly. "What makes you sure? Am I really giving off the vibe that I'm a typical villain from your picture books?"

"What else would you be? You always lie, and you obviously never keep your promises. You plan ahead, and you're a fucking mastermind when it comes to ruining people's lives," Pidge spat out, inching closer to Lotor with a deadly look in her eyes. "I know you, and you never give up. You're determined to have everything go your way, and you'd rather die than admit defeat. You're a senseless jackass who doesn't care that he's going to kill a shit load of kids just because he feels like revenge is the only answer!" She screamed, lunging towards him with the knife sticking out in front of her.

Before she reached him, Lotor caught her arm in midair, stopping her from attacking him. 

"You're losing your mind," he declared, gripping her wrist tightly. "Would you really stab me just for standing here? You've always been the one who practically preaches about how violence isn't the answer, yet you're the one pointing the blade at me instead of trying to figure me out. No matter how much you say you understand me, you clearly don't if you're ready to kill me without knowing everything," he spat out bitterly, his voice raspy.

"Lies. Every word you said was a lie, and like an idiot, I believed you! I believed that you could change, but like always, it backfired on me!" She yelled, her fist trembling. "If you live, you're only going to bring more problems for people! I'm so fucking tired of seeing you wreak havoc and act like it's excusable because of your goddamn childhood!"

"If you don't want to see me around anymore, then you should just stab me and get it over with," Lotor hissed, glaring at her. "At least I'll die knowing that at least I tried to fix things."

"Fix things?" Pidge echoed in disbelief, her eyes narrowing. "Fix things?! You're going to destroy the oldest building on campus and the lives of everyone here! You call _that_ fixing things?!"

"There are no bombs!" Lotor responded forcefully, loosening his grip on her hand. "There are no bombs," he repeated, completely letting her hand go, the knife clattering to the ground a second later. 

"What?"

"We didn't put any bombs to ruin prom." Lotor looked down at her, a frown etched onto his features. "Everything is just how it was when we came here, and nothing was changed. There are no bombs...at least, not on our part," he admitted.

"What do you mean, 'not on your part'? Why the hell would you show up if aren't going to do anything?!" 

Lotor scoffed. "You think I'm an idiot? I knew that you were working with the Blade of Marmora when it took you more than two weeks to speak to me, and it was only confirmed as soon as I spotted one of the members standing in your living room yesterday. We found out about the fake bombs as soon as we tried transporting them here last night, but even then I was having doubts that this was really the best way to go out. In the end, we didn't do anything and just let you believe that you were in danger."

Pidge narrowed her eyes. "Then why the hell were you slinking around in the dark and how did you not get caught by the fucking security guards?"

Lotor shook his head. "I don't know, but there are some security guards here that I don't recognize as Blade members. Keep in mind that my family knows everyone in town."

"Oh believe me, I know." She frowned. "Krolia said that every security guard was replaced by a Blade member. Why would she lie?"

"I don't know, but you can stop trying to kill me and the girls with your pitiful excuse of pocket knife," Lotor answered dryly, looking down at the mentioned object on the ground. "I am not your real villain here. My father is."

"What?"

"I found out that it was the witch who tracked me, and she told my father that Alfor is going to be here. I was hoping that he wouldn't show up, but alas, here he is." Lotor shook his head disappointedly. 

"Okay but your father isn't a big threat, no offense. I mean, what is he going to do, roll Alfor over in his wheelchair?"

"No, but if he can't personally make it here, then he'll probably send someone for him," Lotor replied grimly. "I fear that even though I haven't done anything yet, my father will do something to really destroy prom."

"Okay just...shut up!" Pidge shouted, putting her hands up to her head, shaking it in disbelief. "Am I supposed to believe you, just like that? How am I supposed to be sure that you're not planning something and just using me again?" She questioned icily, glaring up at Lotor. "Every time you promise something, you do the exact opposite and I end up playing the part of a fucking fool! I don't want to be a fool anymore. Not for you, not for anyone, not anymore. So tell me, will I ever be able to trust you? Or am I just going to have to live and hate you for the rest of my life because of your actions and lies?"

Lotor stood there in stunned silence, looking down at Pidge with wide eyes. "I'm never going to ask you to trust me with every fiber of your being, but I'm trying to be a better person, and I feel like that's what counts."

"No one can rewrite the stars," she muttered under her breath. "You can't rewrite your story or your future. Is this how my story ends? Dying at the hands of the person I once believed cared for me?"

"The stars are written out and so is your story, but you don't know what your future holds. If you change it, it's up to you to keep it that way."

"You can't change, and I keep believing that you can when I know that it's a fool's dream," Pidge growled frustratedly, clenching her fists. "I keep letting you lead me on, even though all you've done is lie to me. You've never once kept any promise, and you always lie. You can't change!"

"What is it going to take for me to prove to you that I really am trying to change my ways? Do I have to apologize to Keith for sending goons out to beat him up? Tell me, what do I have to do? I've given you information about me that no one knows, and you've seen how bad things get at home. You know me more than anyone, even though you haven't known me for more than a year!" Lotor shouted, looking at her despondently. "I've trusted you, now why can't you trust me?"

"You've hurt me when all I've ever tried to do is heal you! You've always been good at making me feel small and like I'm nothing, and even though our relationship is over, your words struck deep and the wounds aren't healing! You've only hurt me as time passed, and you still ask why the hell I don't trust you?" She scoffed in disbelief, her dejected expression giving away her pain. 

"I don't trust you, and I will never be able to do so. I came here to protect the people who I care about, and you're not going to distract me from my mission. Feelings are a luxury that I can't afford, and I'm done trying to convince myself that you aren't a bad guy. Goodbye, Lotor. If we don't die, then I really hope I _never_ have to see your face again."

She spun around on her heels and walked out the door, leaving Lotor to look after her with a crestfallen expression.

No matter how sincere he tried to be, he would always be seen as the villain. _Always_.

* * *

Lance huffed in annoyance as he watched the people dance, tapping his foot impatiently as Hunk made his way back from the dance floor.

"Sorry I kinda left you hanging," Hunk said sheepishly, taking his place next to Lance. "Shay asked me to dance with her for one song and I couldn't just say no, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I get it," Lance answered roughly. "That's great."

Hunk furrowed his brows in concern. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just..." He sighed, sending Hunk a small smile. "I'm good." He paused, immediately sobering up and running a hand through his hair. "Pidge called while you were away. Apparently, Lotor isn't using any real bombs and decided to ditch his plan last minute. They're still double checking the area, but so far, everything's been proven to be right."

Hunk whistled. "Wow. Maybe we should give him a 'not as big of a jerk as you could've been' award, don't you think so?" 

Lance shook his head. "I don't know, man. She also said that Zarkon might show up, so we're not out of the woods yet." He scowled, kicking the floor with his shoe. "Man, this sucks. We have a last big party together before we go off into hell and we don't even get to celebrate with each other. This sucks."

Hunk shrugged. "We'll just have to make up our own prom." 

Lance shook his head, wiping his forehead with his forearm. "I'm going to go get some fresh air. This party and everything else is overwhelming. Take care of Coran, will you?" He walked away from Hunk, shuffling his feet as he headed into the hallway, leaving his best friend to stare after him worriedly.

Lance made his way around the DJ area and into the hallway, sighing and leaning against the wall. Today was not one of his proudest moments, he admitted. Instead of feeling like a hero who was going to save everyone, he felt like the weak princess who needed someone to rescue her constantly. He felt off, and he suspected that it wasn't only because of the chips and spiked punch.

"Mind if I join you?"

Lance glanced up, sending Coran a small smile. "Sure."

Coran leaned against the wall with him, crossing his arms behind his back. "What seems to be troubling you?"

"Huh?"

"You walked away from Hunk rather sadly and he looked worried, so I followed you out here to check up on you and see what's troubling you."

Lance nodded. "Yeah, thanks." He looked around uncomfortably, watching some girls whisper to each other as they spotted him. "Uh, can we talk somewhere private? There's a lot of eavesdroppers out here."

"Of course." Coran waved his hand, beckoning for Lance to follow him as he peeled himself off the wall and headed towards the last room at the end of the hall. "I was just about to get the crowns for the king and queen."

"Really?" Lance looked at him curiously as they neared the room, reaching a hand out towards the knob. "Who's the lucky guy and girl?"

"Well–"

They jumped back as the door was flung open, a security guard walking out stiffly. 

"Excuse me, but why were you in there?" Coran asked, tapping the taller man on the shoulder. "That room is off limits!"

"Saw someone go inside," the man replied gruffly, not looking at Coran. "Stopped him. You're welcome." He scampered off towards the main party hall, leaning Coran and Lance to look after him with confused expressions.

"Did that really just happen?"

Lance shrugged and pushed the door open, flicking on the lights and looking around curiously. The classroom in question seemed to be the largest one there was in the entire building, and the windows were large enough to see the stars glowing outside in the night sky. There was what looked like a giant crystal on one of the shelves closest to the window, looking as if it had embedded itself into the ceiling.

"What's with the large crystal?"

"That was a crystal that Alfor and I brought back from our exploration on Balmera Island wayyy back when we were young," Coran said proudly. "The island is actually where Shay comes from, believe it or not."

"Really? Huh, I had no idea." Lance walked around, sitting on the teacher's chair as Coran sat on the desk.

"Now tell me, what's bothering you?"

Lance sighed, placing his elbows on the desk and letting his head fall onto his knuckles. "It's not much, it's just that..."

"Just what?" Coran asked softly.

"It's just that this is one of our last parties together with the entire class before college takes over our lives, and I don't feel like I'm actually here. Like I know my body is here, but I don't feel like my heart is actually into this party."

"I understand. You're upset that the party has been compromised because of the potential threats that could occur tonight." Coran frowned. I am too."

Lance frowned. "I know I'm supposed to feel like a hero, but I feel more like a wimp and a crybaby. It's like I'm just complaining about something stupid when there's actually a really big issue that hasn't been resolved yet and won't be fixed until this stupid party is over," he mumbled. "Honestly? I just want the night to be over."

Coran nodded. "If I could go home and forget that my life is in danger, I would."

"I miss playing in the park after nightfall and playing spin the bottle like a normal kid," Lance said despondently.

"Spin the bottle?"

"Yeah, you know, the game where you spin the bottle and have to kiss the person who the bottle lands on?"

"Oh, that game! Back in my day, it used to be called 'kiss the desperate idiot', mainly because only the desperate boys played the game. They always got annoyed when the bottle landed on another male!" Coran chuckled heartily.

"Sounds fun."

"Yeah," Coran said in a bittersweet tone, smiling sadly. "Yeah..."

* * *

Pidge sighed in annoyance, walking up to Shiro with a small frown. 

"I can't find Lance and Coran anywhere. Keith and Krolia ditched me for the snack table, and now I have nothing to do except worry about dying."

"Hey, not so loud," Shiro warned, glancing around cautiously. "We might have some eavesdroppers."

"Well if you tell me where to find Lance and Coran then maybe I won't make such a scene," she hissed, crossing her arms across her chest. Sighing, she dropped her arms to her sides and shook her head. "I"m sorry, it's just that talking to Lotor really put me on edge. He says he's not the real danger, but I don't know if I should believe him or not."

"Either way, you called bullshit on it, and I'm very proud of you," Allura said as she walked up behind Pidge and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. 

"Yeah, I did." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "That still doesn't mean that we're out of the woods. For all we know, he could be saying the truth and Zarkon is going to pop up like a daisy in the middle of a snowstorm."

"Unlikely," Allura replied. "What is he going to do, roll everyone over in his wheelchair so that they die? No, it's just more of Lotor's lies." She looked around nervously. "Although, I did call in more guards a while ago."

" _Lovely_ ," Pidge murmured sarcastically. She shook her head and turned on her heels, walking over towards the snack table in annoyance.

"Pidge, where are you going?"

"To get some fucking punch for my anxiety!" _And for my sanity_ , she thought to herself. She was going to need a lot of punch to keep her awake and alert just in case something bad did happen.

* * *

After spending a half hour in the room, Coran finally clapped his hands, grinning. "I've found the crowns!"

Lance peered over at him curiously. "Those are the crowns? They look almost like actual real crowns," he said, clearly impressed. "Who's the queen and king?"

"It's a surprise," Coran said slyly, sending the boy a wink before laughing, motioning for Lance to follow him out of the room. "You'll figure it out soon enough, my boy. Let's just focus on making it to the main hall in one piece, yes?"

"Sure." Lance hopped off the chair and took a crown from Coran's arms, placing it on his head jokingly. "Do I look like a real prince now?"

"Dashing," Coran muttered in approval. "Fits you quite well, actually! Alas, you have to give it to me before you scratch it."

"I'll just carry it." Lance took the crown off his head and held it in his arms, walking towards the door behind Coran. A feeling of unease grew in his stomach as they walked away from the desk, sirens going off in his head that were screaming for him to get out of there fast.

It was the rapid beeping that alerted him. 

He heard rapid beeping behind him and he quickly turned around, stopping in his tracks. He looked around and squinted his eyes, focusing on the glowing crystal that seemed to be getting brighter by the second.

"Wait, that crystal wasn't glowing a while ago..."

He gasped as the beeping only got louder, and the crystal got brighter. He gasped and quickly turned towards Coran, tackling the man from behind. 

"Coran, look out!"

Coran let out a shriek a she was pushed to the ground, the crystal suddenly blowing up, sending a blast that knocked him to the ground along with Lance, who was hit in the head by one of the fragments of the crystal. The room was engulfed by a cloud of dark smoke, and he promptly passed out, the last thing he saw being Lance fall to the ground as if he were dead.

Loud screams were heard in the main hall as students started crying and pushing their way out of the exits, Allura and Shiro looking at each other frantically as they helped lead the students out of the hall, Matt, Krolia and Alfor getting the Blade to help them as they led students out of the hall quickly. 

Upstairs, the girls looked at each other in shock and horror as they quickly pushed the door open, running downstairs in their heels and dresses to try and find Lotor. 

Keith, Pidge, and Hunk looked at each other in fear before making their way down the hall, racing towards the last room where the explosion had seemingly come from. Pidge increased her speed, determined to find her friend and principal, the only running through her mind being ' _please, let them be okay._ '

Meanwhile, Lotor raised his head and stared at the clock above him, the clock striking nine thirty. 

"The war has begun."

The lights flickered before finally dying, engulfing the entire Castle in darkness as everyone raced outside, the others remaining inside and looking for their friends, not realizing just how far the night was from being over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive, somehow. This chapter got kinda long and I kept rewriting to make it perfect, and I can happily say that I'm completely satisfied with this chapter lolol. I hope you guys enjoyed the first part to the finale—(not really, there's like three more chapters left)!


	36. Fall of The Castle of Lions - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight against the Galra heats up as Pidge is stranded inside the Castle without help, leading her to team up with the most unlikely person. Lotor tries to show that he’s a good guy and offers his assistance to aid her in the first few hours of the night. Meanwhile, Hunk and Coran team up with some unlikely people in an attempt to kick some Galra ass.

The smoke disappeared once they made it inside the room where the bomb had gone off, the trio coming to a halt once they saw just how much damage had been made to it. 

Large glass shards that had made up the windows now littered the floor, and the desks were overturned. The bookshelf ceased to exist, the same going for the crystal that had previously been placed on it like a trophy. The teacher's desk was also overturned, papers scattered along the floor with the sharp glass shards and crystal fragments. 

They stood in stunned silence, unable to say anything. Every thought left their minds, and all they could do was stare numbly at the glass that lay at their feet. 

Allura and Shiro rushed into the room behind them. Shiro helped Coran up, who was in a daze. Allura gasped upon seeing the damage done to the room, but more specifically, the crystal. 

"The crystal!"

Peering down at the ground, her eyes flew open and she ran forward. "Lance!"

Everyone snapped back into their senses and lurched forward, surrounding Shiro as he passed Coran off to Hunk and leaned down to check on Lance, who looked like he was dead. 

Shiro immediately cradled Lance's head in his arms, the Cuban boy emitting a small groan of pain, but not opening his eyes. Shiro frowned, immediately looking up at the onlookers with a perturbed expression. 

"He doesn't look so good."

"We have to get Lance to the infirmary!" Pidge urged, determination in her tone. 

"We can't," Coran wheezed out, coughing into his fist. "The infirmary goes on immediate lockdown once the power goes out."

"Isn't there a backup generator or a way to override the system?" Keith asked, frowning worriedly. 

"The generators were burned out three years ago during the hurricane and we haven't been able to fix them," Coran responded, creasing his brows. "We rarely use this building and didn't think that something like this would happen."

"Well we've gotta do something," Keith growled frustratedly, looking down at Lance. "He's not going to make it home if we don't get him help!"

Allura tried to speak up. "The fire department and ambulances should be here in a while–" 

"Just how much is 'a while'?" Hunk questioned stiffly, silencing Allura, who looked him with a forlorn expression. 

"The earliest they'd get here is more than eight minutes."

"Too late," Shiro murmured, brushing Lance's hair and discovering a large gash on his forehead. "More bombs could go off."

"I don't understand! We had the Blade on our side!" 

"There's no time for questioning what happened!" Keith shouted, drawing the attention of the others. "All that matters now is keeping Lance alive while the ambulance gets here and making sure that everyone else wasn't hurt."

"Keith's right," Shiro stated, letting out a soft breath. "We can't only worry about ourselves. Hunk and Coran, you two go look for a way to restart the power source or how to get into the infirmary. Be careful," he warned.

Coran coughed. "The backup generator is in the basement of the building."

"We can get it to work," Hunk said determinedly, supporting Coran with an arm. "We won't let you down, Shiro."

Shiro nodded and both Hunk and Coran took off, heading down the hall and disappearing around the corner. 

"I'll go make sure everyone else is okay," Keith said, turning towards the door. 

"Wait!" Shiro called out. 

Keith turned around, knitting his brows together in confusion. "What?"

"Take Allura with you."

"Shiro–!" Allura began to protest, only to be shut down by one of Shiro's worried looks. 

"You need to take it easy. Leave the heavy work to us."

"I'm not helpless!"

"I know you aren't, but just do it, please?" Shiro implored, looking up at her with his wide, worried eyes. 

Allura sighed. "Fine," she relented, taking a few steps towards him and kissing his forehead. "Please stay safe," she whispered, placing her hand on his temple, "and come back to me once this is over."

"I promise."

Pidge walked over towards Keith, punching him lightly in the arm. "I'm not gonna go and make this all cheesy, but don't die, okay?" 

Keith blinked, his lips curving into a small smile. "I'll promise not to die if you promise me you won't die either."

Pidge chuckled lightly. "Fine." 

Keith ruffled her hair before turning somber, calling out for Allura. "Allura! Let's go!"

"Don't rush me!" Allura snapped. 

She followed Keith out of the building grouchily, leaving Shiro and Pidge in the room alone, Lance's breathing the only thing audible. 

"What are you going to do?" Shiro asked Pidge, who was staring at the floor in deep thought. 

She looked up, furrowing her brows. "Do they have security cameras here?"

"Of course they do. Why do you ask?"

Pidge shook her head. "This feels too sudden for it to be...never mind," she said quickly before turning on her heel towards the door. "I have to go find the security room."

"It's on the second floor right next to the bathroom," Shiro called out, watching the girl nod before she ran off, leaving him to sit on the floor in complete silence, clutching Lance's battered body. 

The Cuban boy let out another groan, slightly moving his head before going limp again, Shiro's brows knitting together in concern as he prayed to whatever divine being there was out there for help to arrive quickly.

* * *

Pidge stormed up the stairs, the hairs on the back of her neck and arms tingling as she ran through the second floor hall. 

Everything about this didn't make sense to her. It felt too rushed and too out of place, and mostly, too sudden for it to be Lotor. He planned things carefully, and this didn't feel like it was his doing, despite the fact that he had been the one who was supposed to plant the bombs tonight. 

She ran past the bathroom and came to a halt in front of the room next to it, lurching forward to reach the knob before letting out a small gasp, standing back up straight as she heard voices coming from inside. 

"We should be gone by now!" Ezor's voice hissed from behind the door. "They're going to find us and throw us in jail all because you didn't want to leave before–"

Pidge growled and kicked the door open, revealing Acxa, Lotor, Ezor, Zethrid, and Narti standing around the controls. Her eyes flew open in surprise as she saw Lotor, who's eyes widened upon realizing that Pidge was standing in front of him. 

"What the hell are you doing here?!" She hissed, her eyes narrowing after she recovered from her shock. 

Acxa quickly shut the door behind her, leaning against it to prevent Pidge from leaving the room. Pidge whirled around, glaring daggers at Acxa, stomping towards her dangerously. 

"Open the fucking door!"

"If you don't want anyone to die, then listen to Lotor, because he's the only one who actually knows what the hell is going on," Acxa snarled, glaring at Pidge. 

Pidge scoffed. "Why should I listen to him? All he does is lie and deceive everyone around him! You blindly follow him around like some fucking sheep!"

"I'm not the one who set off the bombs," Lotor spoke up, taking a step towards Pidge and crossing his arms behind his back. "It was my father."

Pidge scoffed incredulously. "Oh of course, blame it all on your father! The guy is fucking paralyzed from the waist down, and he hasn't even shown his ugly face here the entire time we've been here!"

"Do you take my father for a fool? He knows that he cannot walk in unnoticed, so while you are correct in saying that he has not shown up at all, you're incorrect by telling me that I've unjustly blamed my father for his," Lotor spat. 

"Tell me, Katherine, do you really think I did this? You knew all along that the people I was getting my bombs from and the ones who we had made contact with before were giving us fake material. I'm headstrong, yes, but when I say that I'm not doing something, I really mean it."

"Lies. Every word–!"

"Is a lie?" Lotor scoffed. "You've said that a million times already, Katherine. If I were you, I'd listen to what I'm saying. Your friend's life depends on it."

Pidge boiled with rage. "Don't bring Lance into this, you sick son of a bastard!"

"All of us are in danger of dying tonight, and not just Lance," Lotor flared back. "There are no more bombs set off to go tonight, to my knowledge, but in less than five minutes, this entire place is going to be off limits from outside contact."

"Not from the police, and they'll make sure you go to prison for the shit you're doing," Pidge snarled. 

"When I mean the entire place, I really mean the entire place. This building has been around longer than Alfor, and it has been the only one that was created to be a center of protection in case of a nuclear fallout. It's been built specifically to keep intruders out, and once you've been locked out, you might as well burn in the acid," Lotor said, leaning down to face Pidge. 

"You don't trust me, but I'm the only one who can help you survive until the night is over. I know this place like the palm of my hand, and I know exactly what my father is planning to do, even if he isn't the one carrying this out."

He pulled out one of his hand from behind his back and extended it towards Pidge, his face void of any emotion. "We'll be allies until the end of the night. Once it's over, I'll leave and you'll never have to see me again."

Pidge glared at him suspiciously, eyeing his hand in disgust. 

"I'm the only hope you have to save Lance."

Pidge clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palm. This night was going so horribly wrong, and no matter what precautions they had taken beforehand, the night still went to hell. Lance was badly injured, and the only way she could keep him alive was by allying with the one person who had betrayed her more times than she could count. 

Lance's life rested on her hands. 

She let out a small grunt and grudgingly shook Lotor's hand, forcefully pulling him towards her and sticking her face in his own. 

"Listen here, you piece of shit. You give me false information, and I'm turning you over to the cops as soon as they get here, you hear me?"

Lotor chuckled. "My my, me? Giving you false information? I'd never."

"Lotor, if you don't want her to actually go through with her threat, then I suggest you stop being so creepy and get to the point," Ezor interrupted, pulling Lotor away from Pidge's death grip. "Trust me, Acxa did it and now she has red marks all over her neck."

Lotor eyes her suspiciously. "How would you know that her neck is marked?"

"Do we really have time to focus on that?" Zethrid questioned incredulously, pointing at the security camera. "There's buff guys walking towards the front entrance and I do not know who they are!"

Lotor and Pidge both sped over to the controls, watching the five figures walk over to the main entrance, their faces shielded by their hoods. 

Pidge frowned. "Those are Blade of Marmora members."

"No," Lotor responded, clenching his fists and narrowing his eyes. "No they're not. Those are traitors, the spies that have been between the Marmora ranks for years."

Pidge's eyes widened. "What?"

"They're coming for Shiro," Lotor said, whirling around to face her. "They're coming to take him hostage."

* * *

Shiro grunted as he made his way towards the doors, Lance slung over his shoulder. The boy was heavier than he looked, but Shiro was determined to get him out into the open air to prevent him from inhaling more smoke. 

"Don't worry. Help is on the way," he said reassuringly, receiving no response from Lance. 

As he neared the entrance, Shiro stopped in his tracks, clutching onto Lance more tightly. He could make out five bulky figures walking towards the entrance, hoods over their heads and weapons in their hands. 

Worry and fear swelled up inside him as he watched the figures advance, his mind doing a short circuit. Realizing that they were almost at the doors, he quickly snapped back to his senses and rushed further inside, laying Lance on one of the tables that had previously held the snacks. 

"I've got you, buddy."

He squeezed Lance's shoulder before getting up and walking towards the front entrance, standing between the two pillars. He held no weapons, and all he could do was pray that he would survive the night. 

The figures came closer, and Shiro narrowed his eyes, recognizing the face of the leader. 

"Sendak," he snarled. 

Sendak narrowed his eyes, his frown digging deeper into his face as he came to a stop a few feet away from Shiro, standing at the base of the stairs and looking up at the other man. 

"Stand aside."

Shiro clenched his fists and raised them up, standing defensively in front of the building. "You're not getting in."

"Yes, I am."

Shiro instantly reacted, bolting towards Sendak at lightening speed, fury blazing in his eyes as he neared the much larger man. Sendak snarled, lunging forward and grabbing Shiro by the arm with his bulky prosthetic arm, taking him by surprise and flinging him across the stairs, Shiro slamming into one of the pillars that held the building up. He groaned in pain, letting out an angry huff of air before regaining his strength and standing up, Sendak looking discontented.

Shiro clenched his fists once again and raced towards Sendak, this time anticipating his attacks. Once Sendak stuck out his left arm in an attempt to punch his opponent, Shiro slid under his arm and sprinted around him, grabbing a piece of glass on the ground and running it along Sendak's arm.

Sendak grunted and threw Shiro off him with great force, the other man immediately getting on his feet and lunging towards him, emitting a battle cry as he clenched his prosthetic hand and aimed it at Sendak, the larger man doing the same. Their fists collided with great force, metal hitting metal, the sound resonating through the quiet night sky.

Shiro let out ragged breaths, using all his force to prevent Sendak from moving him. 

"I see you've spent some time at a Galra hospital," Sendak sneered, looking down at Shiro's prosthetic. "The staff sure love to experiment with the prosthetics. Too bad you didn't get the latest model." Much to Shiro's dismay and shock, Sendak powered up his arm, curling his fingers around Shiro's arm and flinging him into the hall, almost without any struggle at all. 

Shiro grunted in pain as he came to a halt on the ground next to Lance, his chest heaving up and down as he glared at Sendak, who was rushing towards him at lightning speed. He quickly stood up and ran out of the way, Sendak stomping heavily on the ground, trying to catch Shiro. 

Shiro swerved around Sendak, grabbing a stray piece of glass from the ground and sticking it out, Sendak mimicking his actions. With a final yell, both men held glass shards at each other's necks, the two coming to a standstill as they glared at one another. 

"Let him go, or your friend won't make it," a voice called out from behind Sendak. 

Shiro's eyes widened as he recognized Lance being held by the collar of his shirt, a horrified expression taking over his features as Lance was dropped onto the floor, his body collapsing as if he were a lifeless puppet. 

Sendak took the opportunity and punched Shiro with his right arm, successfully knocking him out and leaving him to collapse on the ground. He grinned menacingly, looking down at Shiro's limp body before lifting his head. 

"The Castle is ours."

He continued walking into the hall, two of the four men carrying Shiro and Lance roughly, not noticing the cameras that were following them as they made their way into the center of the building.

* * *

Pidge felt her heart stop as she watched Shiro and Lance be pulled away, her eyes widening to the size of saucers and her lips slightly parted, brows creased. Denial was her immediate reaction. There was _no way_ that Shiro was just taken captive in front of her. There was just no way that that could happen. 

As if reading her thoughts, Lotor frowned and reached a hand out towards her. "I know this is hard to believe–"

"Don't touch me!" Pidge spat, whirling around to face him with a look of disgust. "This is all your fault! If you had never planned to bomb our fucking prom–!"

"My father still would've sent his people to do his evil bidding," Lotor retorted, cutting Pidge off. "My father did not care what I was doing until he started realizing that I had an ulterior plan once I changed schools. He has never once cared about my life, and only takes interest when it's convenient for him. Knowing Zarkon, he's going to use the fact that the Blade knows what I had planned in an attempt to paint me as the killer and mastermind," Lotor said scornfully, glaring at his clenched fist. 

"You're lying to my fucking face!"

"I am not lying!" Lotor yelled, his eyelids flying open as he glared at Pidge. "Do you realize that I have no reason to lie anymore? Once the night is over, I'm still leaving and I'm still going to be hunted down by the Alteans and Galra. Nothing is going to change."

Pidge stuck a finger in his chest, glaring scornfully at him. "You deserve what's going to happen to you, and you can't blame anyone else except your goddamn self for it!"

"Katie," Ezor cut in, her brows creased worriedly, "he's not the only one who's going to look guilty. You are too, even if he's Galra. You might as well make yourself a target for the Galra if you try to stop them."

"At this point, it really doesn't fucking matter!" Pidge seethed, retracting her finger from Lotor's chest and clenching her hair between her fingers. "Shiro and Lance are in the hands of the fucking Galra and they could die! Do you not fucking understand?!" She took a deep breath, glaring at them with a determined look. 

"I'm past the point of giving a fuck of what happens to me. My family and friends come first, and Shiro and Lance are both."

Lotor pursed his lips, folding his arms across his chest. "Once again, I'm the only one who knows what my father is most likely planning. We are the only ones who can help you."

Pidge curled and uncurled her fingers, glaring up at Lotor, refraining herself from clawing his face. 

"What is the bastard of your father planning?"

Lotor cleared his throat, dusting off his tux. He grabbed a bunch of papers from under the desk that held all the surveillance camera screens, laying them flat on the desk, Acxa and Ezor helping him hold them down. 

"What's this?"

"The building layout," Lotor replied coolly, ignoring Pidge's biting tone. "We're going to need it if we want to be successful."

"Why?" Zethrid asked, genuinely confused. "We know the place is under Galra control, and they're almost impossible to get rid of." 

Lotor grinned. "'Almost' is the key word there." He turned somber and pointed to the layout of the bottom floor, Pidge peering at the blueprints of the building with a mild interest. 

"See where I'm pointing?" Lotor asked. Receiving nods and a 'get on with your point' from Pidge, he continued to speak. "That's where the hidden passageways under the university are. These passageways are used only by the people who have access to them, and to Zarkon."

"Who the fuck gives Zarkon control over the goddamn university?!" Ezor asked incredulously, Narti nodding in agreement. 

"Alfor did and never revoked it," Lotor replied dryly. "Now, as I was saying–"

"There's fucking hidden passage ways?!" Pidge asked in shock, temporarily forgetting that she was mad at Lotor and ready to kill him. 

"Katie!" Lotor complained, pursing his lips childishly. "We have to focus if you want everyone to make it out alive!"

"And how is just talking about the building supposed to help us?" 

"The hidden stairways are one of the ways for people to sneak around unnoticed. Zarkon and his men are going to launch a full scale attack on the Castle, and they're not going to give up until they get what they want."

Pidge ran a hand through her hair. "But what the hell do they want?! There's nothing here!"

Lotor furrowed his brows. "The Castle was the first main building built when Altea was founded. It's priceless and has secret vaults under the building where there are some of the city's money reserves. My father wants control over the entire city, and by controlling the Castle, he can get Alfor and Allura to turn themselves over and basically end the Altean line of succession. That would leave the Galra in charge of the money reserves of the city and in a position to take over the government. Alteans would suffer."

Pidge grunted frustratedly. "Why the hell is there so much important shit in this goddamn building?! This is like something you'd see in movies or in books, not in real life!"

"We can put an end to it by sabotaging the mission."

"Ooh!" Ezor squealed excitedly, furrowing her brows and rubbing her hands together. "Sabotage is fun."

"What exactly is, the plan?" Acxa asked, crossing her arms across her chest and sending Lotor a long look. "We can't exactly just walk around unnoticed."

Lotor nodded. "You're right. The building has secret passageways all over the place. If we walk through those, we wouldn't be seen by anyone. Katie and I could run through them to the main control room while you take care of the rest of the Galra in the building."

Pidge frowned. "What the hell is the main control room?"

"It's the center of the building where all the halls meet up. This is only the surveillance room. All the controls to set off the nuclear fallout protection and isolation dome are in there," Lotor explained quickly. "Shiro and Lance are there from what we can see in the cameras. You'll sneak through the passageways and do your best to gain control over the Castle until the cops get us out of the dome when it comes down."

Pidge took in a deep breath. "This building and plan is fucking crazy."

"Do you have a better one?" Lotor quipped, placing his hands on his hips. 

Pidge rolled her eyes in annoyance, raising a hand. "Save your breath, Lotor. I'm going with the plan, but if it doesn't work I'm ratting you out to the–"

There was a sudden loud creaking noise from the top of the building, and Pidge saw fear flicker across Lotor's eyes. The girl's hands flew to their ears while Pidge and Lotor stood in place, their hearts quickening as they realized what was happening. 

They were being locked in.

* * *

Keith watched Allura pace around with a tired expression, growing increasingly annoyed with the constant pacing that his sister in law was doing. 

"Allura, will you stop pacing?!"

"I will most definitely not!" Allura snapped, stopping and whirling around to face Keith with a harsh glare. "You have no idea what I'm feeling right now!"

"Seriously? Pidge is in there, and I'm worrying my ass off if she's going to be okay or not!" Keith flared back, returning her harsh glare. "You're not the only one with loved ones in danger!"

"That's the father of my child!" Allura all but screamed, stomping up towards Keith, her face scrunched up. "Don't you dare compare you sob love story to my marriage!"

Keith stared at her blankly. "The father of your _what_?" 

Before Allura could answer, there was a loud, creaking noise heard, echoing throughout the entire campus. The teens that were huddled together started screaming, hugging each other close as the sound only grew louder. 

Allura and Keith both snapped their necks around, looking in the direction of the Castle. To their horror, a large barrier could be seen making its way down the sides of the building, a translucent dome that was sealing the fates of those inside. 

"What the hell is that?!" Keith asked in bewilderment, taking off in the direction of the Castle at lightning speed, Allura at his heels. 

"It's the barrier that was built into the Castle in case of a nuclear fallout! Once it's down, there's no way for us to get inside!" Allura replied, her heart beating faster as she increased her speed. 

They reached the clearing in front of the building, the dome almost completely down. Keith clenched his teeth, sprinting up the stairs, only to feel his heart stop and his anger flare up as he came face to face with the barrier, which was completely down. 

"We're too late!" Allura cried, clutching her hands against her chest. "The Galra have taken control over the Castle!"

"No, no!" Keith screamed, pounding on the barrier. "Shiro! Pidge! No!" 

"Keith!" Allura called out, turning the boy around by his shoulders, looking him straight in the eyes with a distressed expression, "We have to do something!"

"I don't know what to do!"

Keith felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, picking it up and answering the call, despite not knowing who the number belonged to. 

" _Keith? Can you hear me_?"

Relief flooded Keith's insides as heard her voice. "Pidge! Where are you?!"

" _I'm inside the Castle_ ," she responded, holding Lotor's phone against her ear as she watched Acxa and Ezor block the door. " _They have Lance and Shiro_!"

Allura quickly took the phone from Keith's hand and jammed it up against her ear. "Pidge, listen to me! There's secret–"

" _Secret passage ways in the school? Yeah, I know_ ," Pidge snidely remarked, wincing as Ezor cried out in pain after slamming her body against the door. " _Seriously Allura, how dumb do you think I am_?"

Allura huffed. "This is no times for jokes, Pidge! Shiro and Lance are both in trouble, and they will die if we can't help them!"

" _There's no way for you to get in. The secret passageways under the building are completely shut down and the Galra are in control of the stupid control room_!"

"Where are you right now?"

" _The room with all the stupid surveillance cameras. We blockaded the door so no one can get in, but we're trying to come up with a plan to lower the barrier and regain control over the building_."

"We? Who's we?" Keith asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes, unbeknownst to Pidge. "Who else is there?"

" _Katie, we've found the secret passageway in the room_!" Came Lotor's voice through the phone, Allura and Keith exchanging shocked expressions. 

"Lotor?!" Both screeched, Pidge yelping in surprise as their voices filtered through the phone.

" _No, the fucking princess of Denmark_ ," Pidge sarcastically replied, receiving an arched brow from Lotor. " _Of course it's him! He's the only one who was conveniently here and the only one who knew about the stupid secret passages for some fucking reason_."

" _In my defense_ –"

" _Jail_ ," she hissed, much to Keith's delight. " _Listen, we have a plan. I'm going to sneak into the control room while the girls make their way down to the basement and fight the Galra trying to get into the money vault. I have no idea where Hunk and Coran are, but knowing them, they're probably hiding instead of fighting._ "

Allura snorted. "Sounds about right." She quickly turned somber, her gaze hardening. "Why are you siding with Lotor? This could all be a trap that you're unwittingly pulling yourself into."

" _Because it's the only shot I have at saving Lance and Shiro_ ," Pidge replied, her tone hard. " _It wasn't my first choice, but he knows what he's doing and he's the best—no, the only shot—I've got at saving these two. Don't worry, if he tries something, I'll turn him over to the cops as soon as the barrier is down_."

" _How lovely_ ," Lotor said dryly in the background. " _We have to get moving. The barrier has a timer, and once it's been up for more than two hours, we're going to need a lot more than a system override to get it down._ "

" _Okay okay, I'm going. Allura, I've gotta go, but I'll keep you guys updated. Don't even try calling me though, I lost my phone in the stupid explosion room_." Pidge hung up, leaving Allura and Keith to look at the barrier in distress as they started to count the minutes down until the nightmare would be over.

* * *

Hunk grunted in annoyance as he fiddled with his phone flashlight, using it to illuminate his and Coran's path as they made their way down the narrow set of stairs into the basement. 

"I can't believe they knocked out the stupid power lines! Like hello, why the stupid power? We need that!" He complained. 

Coran sighed from beside him. "I know you're worried about Lance, but you can't complain the entire time about it. We'll get the power back on in no time, and we'll get the infirmary running soon enough."

"With all the creaky noises and the weird hallways in this stupid building, I'd be surprised if we even get out of here alive," Hunk mumbled in annoyance.

Coran shook his head. "My boy, we're almost at the power source."

"I thought it was in the stupid control room but no, you Alteans have to be sooo complicated and put things where they don't–oh my god!" Hunk screeched, spotting two figures heading towards them. "It's the aliens! They're real!"

"Hunk!" Shay cried out, rushing towards him and clutching his hands tightly. "Hunk, Hunk! It's me!"

"Shay?!" Hunk sputtered, standing still in front of her. "What are you doing here?!"

"We came down here to look for some extra party supplies, only for the lights to go out! Then we heard banging in the deep part of the basement so we came to the upper part in hopes that they wouldn't find us." 

Hunk furrowed his brows. "What banging?"

"Banging and voices from the other side of the wall," Plaxum replied from her position next to Shay, her brows creasing. "It started right after the loud sound that went off, too. What was it?"

"A bomb," Coran replied wearily. "One bomb that has one of my students in critical condition."

"Critical condition?" Plaxum questioned. "Who?"

"Lance..." Hunk answered carefully, watching Plaxum's eyes fly open in shock. 

"That's my boyfriend! Why the hell didn't you get him out of here?!"

"The police and ambulances weren't going to arrive for another ten or so minutes, so Shiro sent us down here to try and get the power running so we could keep him in the infirmary," Hunk replied, reaching out and placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I know you're worried, but so am I. Please stay calm for my own sanity."

Plaxum numbly nodded, looking at Shay worriedly. "What do we do?"

Shay frowned, turning to look at Hunk questioningly. "Hunk?"

Hunk sighed. "I don't really think we can do anything except try to get the power source running."

His phone started vibrating, causing him to look down at his pocket in confusion. Picking it up, he answered the call. "Hello?"

" _Hunk, whatever you do, don't go into the basement_!" Pidge's voice called out, sounding frantic and scared. 

"What? Why?"

" _The Galra have control over the Castle, and they have Shiro and Lance captive. They're looking for the money reserves under the building and go eliminate the Altean lineage. Whatever you do, don't go into the basement_."

"What do you mean they have Lance and Shiro?! Haven't the ambulances arrived?!"

" _The dome that protects the building from outside forces is down, and we're working on a way to get into the control room so we can take it down. Ezor, Acxa, Zethrid and Narti are going to get down there to help you beat the shit out of the guards while Lotor tracks down his dad_."

"Zarkon's here?! How? He's in a wheelchair!"

" _I don't fucking know! All I know is that there's too many Galra down there for you to take down alone. Promise me you'll stay safe_."

Hunk sighed. "I guess?"

" _Good enough. Don't call me back, I'm on a stealth mission in the walls_."

"In the what?" Pidge hung up on him, leaving Hunk to look at Coran confusedly. "There's a money vault here?"

"What the hell," Plaxum said, her tone biting. "Who leaves a stupid vault full of money under a university?!"

"I warned Alfor that it wasn't a good idea, but he never listens," Coran remarked. He turned to Hunk, his face hardened. "If the dome is down, we're locked in unless we manage to get the secret passageways to work."

"Secret passageways?"

"I'll explain on the way," Coran said dismissively, walking towards the door that led to the bottom basement. 

Plaxum and Hunk exchanged looks before Hunk launched himself forward, holding onto Coran's sleeve. 

"We are not going down there all alone. Pidge said that some girls are coming to help us."

"How useful can Lotor's girl squad be to us?" Coran asked stiffly. "We have ourselves!"

"Lets kick ass!" Plaxum yelled triumphantly, a grin spreading across her features. 

"You'll never make it without us," a feminine voice called out from behind them. 

All four turned around to face the voice, only t find four girls standing in front of them their arms crossed across their chests, looking like they were ready to kill a man.

Hunk spoke up. "Who are you?"

"The enemy," Ezor simply replied, shrugging. "Well, that's what Katie thinks we are."

"We're the ones that are going to take down the Galra," Acxa replied, ignoring Ezor's comment. "The ones Katie said were coming."

Coran huffed indignantly. "We don't need help! We have everything under control, so you can be on your way–"

"No time for this," Narti mumbled before grabbing Zethrid's hand and pushing her way through the four that were standing in their way. 

Once she came to a stop in front of the door, she turned around to face the others, her expression murderous. 

"We are going to work together instead of fighting like wild animals. There is no more time for arguing!"

Plaxum gasped. "She talks!"

Acxa frowned, exchanging a look with Ezor before making her way next to Narti. 

"She's right," Acxa declared. "We're both working towards the same goal, even though you may not believe it. We all want to stay alive, and the only way we can do that is by working together."

Hunk sighed, looking at Coran apologetically. "You know I hate siding with Lotor almost as much as you, but they're right. We have to do something if we want to protect the University and Altea."

Coran grunted. "I hate when you're right."

"So what do we do?" Shay asked, looking at Hunk worriedly. "We can't exactly just waltz inside and take back the bottom portion Castle."

Plaxum furrowed her brows, putting a finger up to her chin. A sudden grin made itself visible on her features, and she snapped her head up, an excited gleam in her eyes. 

"I've got it!" 

She turned to Ezor, a smirk visible on her features. 

"Do you have some extra cloth?"

* * *

Lotor walked closely behind Pidge, looking curiously at the girl. A look of determination masked her features, but he knew that deep down inside, she was an emotionally wreck. Who wouldn't be if they were stuck in a Castle with people who wanted to kill them? His father was the only one who wanted to kill him, not Pidge. Well, that still wasn't clear.

"Stop. I can feel you staring at me."

Lotor rolled his eyes. "Is there a problem with that?"

"I have a boyfriend, and you are not him. My head is up here, not in my ass," she told him bitterly, turning her neck around to shoot him a dirty look. 

"I wasn't looking there," Lotor said stiffly, clenching his jaw. "And who's the new boyfriend? Wait, don't tell me. It's Keith, the person who–"

"The person who's cared for me more than you ever have?" Pidge interrupted sharply, narrowing her eyes. "Yeah, him. Think what you want to think, but we aren't going to talk about my personal life. We're focusing on saving Lance, Shiro, and ourselves, got it?" She snapped, not bothering to let Lotor speak. 

Lotor returned her look, furrowing his brows and narrowing his eyes. "Do you really think that I care about looking at your ass? The world doesn't revolve around you. I'm focusing on trying to hear what the hell is going on so I can find my father and get out before he sees me."

"Wow, hiding from daddy now, are we? Pathetic."

"That's what you would say," Lotor sneered, letting a hand fall on one of the walls. "You've never been hated by your father or had a best friend turn against you."

Pidge looked at him incredulously. "Seriously? I literally went through half of that because of you!" She groaned frustratedly, stopping in the middle of the passageway to facepalm. 

"Look, I get that you don't like me, but I don't understand why," Lotor whined. "I've done everything right since you've asked me to! I haven't hurt anyone near to you and I'm actually trying to be a decent person. Isn't that enough?"

Pidge peeled her forehead off the wall to turn and look at him coldly. 

"You can't do anything. What's done is done, and I can't bring myself to trust you when I trusted you time and time again, only for you to be a bitch and–mmf!" 

She was silenced by Lotor slapping a hand across her mouth, putting a finger up to his mouth as he leaned an ear against the wall. She tugged at his arm forcefully, starting to protest once Lotor let go, only to be silenced by one of his glares. 

"Lord Zarkon, one prisoner and additional bait are now in our possession. When should we make the Alteans turn themselves over?"

"You should have already had them in your clutches."

"But sir–"

"The prisoners will die regardless if the Alteans turn themselves over. We are here for the end of the Altean line and the money, and we won't leave until we get what we came for! Do anything it takes to get the Alteans to turn themselves over, and once they're in, kill them."

"Vrepit sa."

Pidge's eyes widened on the other side of the wall, frozen in place as she replayed what Zarkon had said in her mind. 

_The prisoners will die regardless if the Altean turn themselves over. The prisoners will die regardless if the Altean turn themselves over. The prisoners will die regardless if the Altean turn themselves over._

"No," she managed to whisper. She was pulled away from the area by Lotor, who has started running in the opposite direction of where the sound of Zarkon's voice had come from. 

"Let go of me!" She screeched, pounding a hand against Lotor's chest as he came to a stop after a minute of running. "Let go if me you sick bitch!"

"Pidge!" Lotor yelled loudly, grabbing her wrists and looking into her eyes firmly, "We aren't going to give Zarkon what he wants. We're going to save the Alteans and your friends, but yelling and arguing is going to get us nowhere, and with your screaming, they probably know they have invaders in the Castle."

"I know you're upset, but we aren't going to let that happen," Lotor said firmly, a trace of sympathy in his tone, "we're going to get out of this alive and you're going to have your friends back. If there's one promise that I can make, it's that."

"You never keep your promises."

"Trust me just this once," Lotor begged, purple eyes meeting amber, "just this once, and then I'll leave you to live your life without me. I promise you that I won't break this promise."

Pidge bit her lip, looking back in the direction from which they had run from. 

"We can't take them down if we're stuck together. You have to take care of your dad, and I have to take care of the control panel where they have Shiro."

Lotor frowned. "That's not what–"

His phone started ringing in his pocket, Lotor casting it a confused look as Pidge desperately tried to silence it to avoid making more noise. 

"Let me see that!" He snatched the phone out of her grasp and his eyes widened as he saw the number, Pidge reaching out and taking it back.

"Don't answer–!"

"It could be Allura!"

Much to Lotor's dismay, Pidge answered the call, pressing the phone up to her ear. 

"Hello? Allura?!"

" _Paladin_ ," a grave voice said from the other side of the line, " _you are playing with demons and don't know what this will cost you. Turn yourself over immediately, and your friend will not suffer_."

" _No, Pidge–_!" 

A painful scream was heard over the line and Pidge felt her heart beat faster, her eyes widening and her brows furrowing as she felt a surge of fury course through her veins. 

"Shiro! No!"

" _Turn yourself over and we will let him go with life. The clock is ticking_ ," the voice said before the click of the phone was heard, leaving Pidge to glare angrily at the device in her hands. 

"Katie," Lotor said tentatively, reaching out to touch her shoulder, "We have to remain strong. You can't give yourself in. Trust me–"

"I don't trust you!" Pidge screamed angrily, "I've never been able to trust you or anyone after what you did to me! My life is falling apart right in front of my eyes and I don't know what to say or do, and I feel like this is the fucking end!"

"You've spent so much fearing those who have hurt you that you won't let them in, even if they want to help you."

"Well what choice do I have? Trust is for fools," she snarled, running a hand through her hair.

"No," Lotor shook his head, "it's not. I might not be able to convince you to trust me, and I see that now, but you have to believe that this isn't the end. You're smart, and you've never given up before, so why start now? It is a challenge, and it's one you will win. This is your playground, not theirs. We'll spilt up and I'll take down my father, but it's up to you to take down that shield to get everyone else out. Am I making myself clear?"

Pidge furrowed her brows and nodded, a small frown on her lips. 

Lotor nodded in response, pointing in the direction where they had come from. 

"See there? That's the direction you take to find  Sendak, the one who's in charge of the control panel." Lotor looked over at Pidge, who was looking at him suspiciously.

Lotor sighed. "Before you ask, I could tell it was him from his voice." Once Pidge nodded, he returned back to his plan. "As I was saying, once you get to the area where we were at before, there should be a passage way up into the vents. If we drop in from there, he won't have enough time to react as you disable the control panel since I'll lure my father out of the room and fight him on my own terms, giving both Zarkon and Sendak too much information to process. The dome will take a while to go back up. From there, you can either wait for help or kick Sendak's ass, it's up to you. Got it?" 

Pidge nodded, glaring at him. "Got it. What am I supposed to fight him with?"

"Use your resources. If you don't see me after, I either ran away to avoid the police, or I'm dead." He motioned towards the direction they had come from, looking down at the girl at his side. 

"Are you ready to take back what's yours?"

"You don't even have to ask me twice," she replied, making her way down the passage they had come from. Lotor followed behind her, internally preparing himself for the fight against his father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is half of what was supposed to be the second part to the two parter, which hit to be wayyyy too long lol. There’s one more part to this night after this, and after that, two more chapters to go before the end. Hope you enjoy this chapter!


	37. Fall of The Castle of Lions – Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the night progresses, promises and phone calls are made, shots are fired, and the first battle between the Galra and Alteans is finally over. Meanwhile, Lotor mulls over what his future holds for him as the catastrophe is brought to an end and Krolia is a very concerned mother over a certain raven haired boy.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Hunk asked in a muffled tone, his face covered by a thick blanket that Ezor and Plaxum had found in one of the janitorial closets. 

"Of course it will!" Plaxum quipped, looking at her creation satisfactorily. "It has to work. At least, just enough for us to take back what's ours."

"I have to admit, this plan might actually be useful!" Coran murmured excitedly, sitting on top of Hunk's shoulders. "I can see Russia from here!"

Ezor raised a brow. "We're inside..."

"And what's your point?"

Hunk groaned from under the blanket. "Is shooting a dart gun into the dark really going to work? I feel like they'll notice before we even get to make a dent."

Acxa shook her head. "No, they won't. All you have to do is pretend to shoot them while we actually tase them into unconsciousness until the police get here."

"You're not actually shooting them, right?" Shay asked worriedly. 

"No. We could, but we won't."

Coran narrowed his eyes. "You seem to know a lot about weapons."

"Don't question it. We're here to help, and we all agreed that we'd work together to take the Galra down," Acxa said patiently.

"But you're Galra," Coran said, confusion clear in his tone. "Why would you want to take down your own people?"

"Sometimes, your own people can be the monsters and you have to end them, even if they were the ones who raised you." 

Acxa turned around and motioned for Coran to follow her, Coran tapping Hunk's head to get him to move. Hunk moved forward, coming to a stop when Acxa told him to. 

"There's a door right in front of you. You're going to walk in and Coran will pretend to be helpless. Then, Hunk is going to reveal his gun and shoot it at them, allowing the rest of us to get in and take down the rest of the Galra. Got it?"

Hunk nodded along with Coran, and Acxa furrowed her brows. 

"Good luck."

She pressed the door open and pushed Hunk in, slamming the door shut behind them and leaving them alone. 

At the sound of a door being opened, the Galra turned around, facing the intruder. Spotting Coran, they gasped, grabbing their weapons and aiming them at him. 

"It's the Altean!"

"You're right, it's me! It's I, the one you were looking for! I'm so helpless and frail, oh no! Whatever shall I do?!" Coran called out woefully, kicking Hunk's arm as a signal. 

"Stand there and raise your hands, Altean!"

Coran sighed. "Alright, if you insist." 

Before anyone could react, he pulled the cloth off his legs and revealed Hunk, who was wielding a gun of his own. 

Hunk immediately started shooting at the Galra with great force, looking startled as the Galra actually fell to the ground with the force of the fake bullets hitting them. 

"Booyeah!" Coran yelled over the noise of the gunfire, hopping off Hunk and allowing the rest of the girls to run inside to aid them. 

Ezor ran in first, aiming her throwing stars at two of the Galra's wrists, successfully pinning them against the opposite wall. 

Acxa followed in next, pulling her own gun out from behind her back and aiming it at the chests of the Galra, watching them go down like fleas as they unsuccessfully tried to stop her. 

Zethrid snarled as she leaped at one of the Galra with weapons, grabbing it and stomping on it successfully breaking it. 

"Your weapons are toys!" 

Narti and Plaxum proceeded to run in and attack the Galra guarding the vault, knocking them out with a punch to the face. Once sure that the vault was secure, they ran in to join the fight, jumping in random Galra and holding them still to allow Acxa, Ezor, and Zethrid to capture them. 

Hunk kept blasting absentmindedly, Shay shutting all the other doors leading to the secret tunnels, blocking the Galra on the outside who had heard the commotion. 

One by one, the Galra fell, all knocked into unconsciousness by either being shot or punched in the head. 

Acxa finally stopped as she shot the last Galra down, sneering down at the body and kicking it with her foot. 

"Scum of the earth." 

She turned to the rest of the group, who was panting heavily. 

"We need to tie them up and make contact with whoever we can get help from. Get Allura and Keith," she called out, looking directly at Hunk. "They're the only ones who can end the bigger battle upstairs."

"Why can't we help?!"

"You think the Galra are just going to give up that easily down here?" Acxa asked incredulously. "No, they aren't. It's up to us to protect it until the police gets down here."

Hunk turned to look at Shay, extending a hand. 

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but call Allura and Keith. We need them if we want the nightmare to be over." She reached the pocket of her dress and passed Hunk his phone, checking the time. 

_11:26 PM._

Hunk took it from her and dialed Keith's number, knowing fully well that the boy would answer on the first ring. 

" _Hunk! How's everyone? What's going on? I tried calling Pidge but she won't answer and Lotor won't either_!"

"Pidge isn't with us—"

" _Of course she isn't. Where is she_?!"

"She's going with Lotor to take down the dome. Are the cops with you?"

" _The whole police squad and Blade has been trying to break the dome but it won't fall! What's taking you so long_?!"

"We just took down the Galra trying to steal the money from a vault under the school!"

" _There's a what?! Okay look, you're making no sense, but I need you to tell me if there's any way for me to get in._ "

"There's one tunnel that's unblocked. Coran, where do you get in?"

"There's an entrance under the tree closest to the entrance of the Castle!"

" _Got it. I'll see you soon._ "

"Hurry! We have to help Pidge!" Plaxum yelled.

" _That's why I'm going._ " 

Keith hung up, leaving Hunk to stare at his phone with a scrunched nose. 

"Rude. He's only coming for Pidge."

"Don't be so hung up on that," Shay said sympathetically. "We all knew that he would only be coming for her."

"But I didn't expect it to hurt so much," Hunk muttered,

Acxa only furrowed her brows, staring at the ground pensively.

"You okay?" Ezor asked tentatively, placing a hand on Acxa's shoulder.

Acxa only nodded in response, remaining somber. "Yeah. I'm fine."

That was one of the biggest lies she had ever told anyone.

* * *

Lotor kneeled on the ground, feeling around for the opening on the ceiling. He looked at the picture of the map that he had taken on his phone, grunting frustratedly.

"The entrance is here but I can't find it."

Pide rolled her eyes, pushing him to the side as she took a step forward, kneeling on the ground. 

"Move. You can't find anything for shit."

She felt around for a slight bump, finding it against a small bump that seemed to be the opening to a trap door. 

"I found it!" Taking her pocket knife out of her dress pocket, she started lifting the edges, furrowing her brows. 

"I could—"

The words were snatched out of Lotor's  
mouth as Pidge slid the panel open silently, staring at her wide eyed and his mouth agape.

"How did you—"

"Practice. Let's go!" she whisper yelled, tilting her head in the direction of the ground. 

Lotor snapped back to his senses and nodded, kneeling on one edge while Pidge kneeled on the opposite side.

"I'll help you down then I'll jump," Lotor offered, extending his hands towards her.

Pidge quickly glanced between his eyes and his hands, reaching out to grab them steadily.

"If you do anything wrong—"

"Jump!" Lotor hissed, holding her hands as Pidge pushed herself off the edge, falling onto the floor on both legs. 

Lotor followed after her, pushing himself off the edge and landing next to her, the two Galra men in front of them not noticing. Pidge quickly spotted Shiro and Lance, both men unconscious and inattentive to what was happening.

Lotor motioned for her to hide behind the control panel, Pidge briefly acknowledging him as she crouched behind it, eager to get the plan into action. 

Once Lotor was sure that Pidge was hidden away from plain sight, he took a deep breath, narrowing his eyes as he looked up at his father's spine.

"Father!" he called out, holding his chin up proudly and pulling a knife from out of his pocket, holding it steadily in his hand. 

Zarkon immediately whipped around, eyeing Lotor with a murderous glare. He stood up from his wheelchair, leaving Lotor to stare at him with shocked eyes.

"You can walk!"

"I can kill you just as easily too," Zarkon snarled, pulling his own knife and gun out from under his jacket. "Fight like a man, Lotor!"

"Gladly!" Lotor hissed. 

He quickly turned and bolted out of the control room, giving Zarkon little time to react. Zarkon immediately followed after his son, Sendak following his leader out of the control room, drawing his own gun and aiming it at Lotor.

Pidge immediately came out of her hiding spot, rushing towards Shiro and Lance. She knelt down in front of Shiro, placing a hand on his shoulder, shaking him awake.

"Shiro?! It's me, Pidge!"

Pidge barely saw Shiro blearily open his eyes before being harshly grabbed by the neck, letting out a strangled scream. 

"You really thought I was going to fall for Lotor's trick?" Sendak snarled, holding Pidge in front of him. 

Hearing footsteps from behind him, Sendak turned around, eyes narrowing as he spotted Keith, Allura, and Krolia standing behind him. 

He held out Pidge in front of him, snarling. "Stand back!"

He quickly dropped Pidge as he felt a large sting in his back, spinning around to face Lance, who had managed to get a hold of one of the guns that Zarkon had left behind. Groaning, Lance let himself fall back into unconsciousness, leaving the team to glare at Sendak menacingly.

Shiro got up from his position on the round and ran towards Sendak, determined to beat him once and for all, even if his hands were tied behind his back. Sendak spotted him from the corner of his eye and reached out his prosthetic hand, grabbing Shiro by the throat and flinging him across the room. Shiro fell with a loud thud, his body going limp on the ground. 

Allura let out a loud cry, Keith instinctively drawing his knife and running towards Sendak, aiming to strike him in the chest. Sendak grabbed his arm and flung him to the opposite side of the room, Keith letting out a scream as he landed against the wall. Krolia furrowed her brows and grabbed her gun from its holster, aiming it at Sendak.

Pidge watched Keith get slammed against the wall, immediately grabbing her knife and getting up. She growled and launched herself at Sendak's prosthetic, hardening her grip on her knife and running it through his prosthetic, severing it from the stump. 

"No!" Sendak roared.

Keith launched himself towards Sendak, changing the length of his knife into a sword, holding it against Sendak's regular arm. Sendak growled and resisted, Keith and the older man in a standstill, glaring into each other's eyes. 

Allura ran over to the control panel, typing a code into the screen. She quickly turned to Keith, her brows scrunch together angrily.

"Keith! Now!"

Keith grunted angrily and pushed Sendak away from him, the older man roaring angrily as he was surrounded by a barrier similar to the one that protected the Castle, pounding against it angrily. 

"You're going to regret this—!"

Sendak suddenly fell unconscious as he received a shot to the head, Acxa appearing from a spot in the ceiling where Pidge and Keith had fallen out of. The others followed quickly behind her, Coran dropping down last. She glared at Sendak's limp body, kicking it harshly. When she received no response, she looked up at Allura and nodded.

"He's unconscious."

Allura nodded and lowered the barrier, Krolia bringing forth handcuffs and presenting them to Allura. She only frowned in confusion as she realized that Sendak only had one arm now.

"How am I supposed to—"

"Let's kick him out," Ezor said simply. "The police will know what to do with him. But you should probably keep that particle barrier up until they actually get here, yunno, just as a simple safety precaution."

Allura only looked at Ezor suspiciously before allowing the barrier to be bought back up, leaving Sendak's unconscious body on the ground. She then turned her attention to Shiro, who was being freed by Pidge.

"Shiro!"

She quickly ran towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck and peppering his cheeks with kisses. Shiro chuckled lightly and smiled, wrapping his arms around her torso, holding her close against him.

Keith leaned down to help Lance, extending an arm towards the barely conscious boy.

"Lance? Are you okay?"

Lance grunted, flashing Keith a small, wry smile. "We did it. We are a good team."

Keith only smiled back in return, looking up quickly as Plaxum ran over towards Lance. He let go of Lance's hand and allowed Plaxum to hold it instead, standing up straight and walking over towards Krolia, who was smiling in amusement.

Keith frowned. "What?"

He was silenced by Pidge slapping his arm, frowning as she looked up at him. Relief flooded his insides as he realized she was alright, quickly pulling her into a bone crushing hug.

"You're alive!"

"I try," Pidge replied in a muffled tone, hugging Keith back.

They let go after a few seconds, standing a few inches away from one another.

Keith frowned. "What happened to Lotor? I thought he was with you."

Pidge's face turned somber as she remembered Lotor's promise.

"He's going to fight Zarkon by himself..."

"But Zarkon is in a wheelchair—"

"He's been lying the entire time!" Pidge hissed, clenching her fists. "The bitch can walk and run perfectly fine!"

A loud scream was heard, and all heads turned towards the entrance of the control room. 

Pidge immediately took off, knowing exactly who the scream was from. Keith recognized it too, following after his girlfriend. 

"Krolia, stay behind and help them get Lance out and in a stretcher! I'll go find Pidge!" 

Keith ran out of the control room, following Pidge, who was zig zagging through the halls and down the stairs. 

"Pidge! Where are you going?!"

"To find Lotor!"

Keith groaned internally, a small sense of jealousy rising inside him. Why did she care so much about Lotor? He was nothing more than a piece of shit. 

Another yell was heard, and Keith sped up his pace, quickly following after his girlfriend. He might hate Lotor, but he trusted Pidge, and if her instincts were telling her to help him, fuck it. 

He'd follow her straight into hell for that.

* * *

Lotor fell on his knees, panting heavily as he glared up at his father through his loose strands of hair. 

"It's over, father! Give up; your plan has failed, just like every other plan has!"

"You dare speak up to your father like that?" Zarkon snarled. "Perhaps I should just shoot you now to show you some respect!"

Lotor growled angrily. "You've never been my father!" He shouted. "You and the witch have only cared about yourselves since I was born, and you never cared about me! The medicines she created, the drugs she created, they were something you got addicted to! They poisoned your brain, and they poisoned her too!"

"Do not speak of things you don't understand, you pathetic fool!"

"Your charade of being a paralyzed old man is over! The police will find you, and you'll rot behind a prison cell!" Lotor managed to say through clenched teeth, grabbing his arm tightly, which contained a stab wound. 

Zarkon laughed coldly. "You think bars can keep me away from you? I will find you, and if I don't have the pleasure of killing you now, then I'll kill you another time! Finally, my darkest spot will be cleaned off the face of our family tree."

"The only dark spot in the Sincline family tree is you," Lotor hissed through clenched teeth, glaring at his father menacingly. "You and that witch have ruined the family name more than anyone else has!"

"Silence!" Zarkon roared. 

A loud zapping noise was heard and Zarkon yelled angrily in pain, whipping his head around to face Pidge and Keith, who had found their way down to the gymnasium. 

Keith lowered the gun that he had fired, glaring daggers at Zarkon. 

"Let him go!" Pidge snarled. 

Zarkon chuckled darkly. "You Paladins love to get into other people's business. Hasn't anyone told you that interfering in others business is rude?!" He quickly threw his knife at Keith, aiming it at his stomach. 

Keith immediately grabbed it and threw it back, the knife digging itself Zarkon's face, the man roaring in pain as the tip wedged itself deeper into his cheek. 

"When they find your bodies, you're going to wish you had never messed with me!"

He aimed his gun towards Keith and narrowed his eyes coldly, meeting him eye to eye. 

"You fight almost as well as Galra soldier," Zarkon said in a loud voice, "but you are no Galra."

Before Pidge could react, Zarkon pulled the gun up, aiming an actual bullet at Keith's chest. Keith did the same thing, the two challenging each other before Zarkon pulled the trigger, causing Keith to do so as well. 

"No!" Pidge screamed, her eyes widening and her body becoming frozen. 

Lotor's eyes widened and he quickly snapped into action, pulling himself up and pushing Zarkon's hand, the bullet being aimed at Keith's arm rather than his chest. The bullet aimed at Keith lodged itself into his arm, Keith emitting a sharp scream of pain as it embedded itself into his body. 

Zarkon received a bullet to the stomach, the bullet lodging itself in his spleen. He screamed in pain, falling on his hands and knees as the blood began to seep out of him, staining his shirt. 

Pidge and Lotor immediately rushed over to aid Keith, the boy clenching onto his arm tightly in an attempt to stop some of the blood flow. 

"This hurts like hell!" Keith complained angrily, wincing as Pidge pried his fingers away from it. 

"Don't die you asshole! We still have to make it to graduation and marriage!" She hissed harshly, ignoring Lotor's confused look. "For fucks sake, get your hand off your wound! You're going to infect it even more!"

"Keith, we have to get you upstairs with the paramedics," Lotor said frantically, ignoring his dying father in the background. "It needs urgent attention—"

He was interrupted by a rush of people filling into the gymnasium, a few paramedics heading over towards Zarkon, who was on the verge of passing out from the internal and external bleeding. 

It was all a blur from there. Zarkon was placed on a cot and rushed out of the room, the paramedics rushing him to the ambulance in hopes that they could stop the bleeding. 

Lotor and Keith were both led upstairs towards the front entrance, where a big crowd of policemen and firemen was gathered. They were ushered towards the ambulances where they were treated for their injuries, Lotor receiving a bandage for his cuts and Keith being placed on a stretcher, the paramedics determining that he had to go to the hospital so that the staff could take remove bullet from his arm. 

One by one, the Galra were led out, all woozy and dazed from the stuns they had received from Acxa's gun and the punches thrown at them from the others. 

When Sendak was brought out, he glared darkly at Lotor and Pidge, the two returning the gesture. 

Krolia walked out behind the officers with Matt, and one she spotted him, she rushed over towards Keith's gurney, looking at his arm horrifiedly. 

"What happened to your arm?" She demanded, immediately grabbing his face and looking for more injuries. "Is that all? Are you dizzy? Have a fever? Do you feel like you're going to pass out?"

Keith rolled his eyes, pushing Krolia's hand away. 

"I'm fine, Krolia. I just got shot in the arm—"

"By who?" She demanded. "I will have every agent out there file a lawsuit against this person!"

"Zarkon," Lotor called out from beside Pidge, who send Krolia a small smile. 

"What."

"Zarkon tried to kill me," Keith clarified, looking up at Krolia. "He tried to shoot me in the chest, but Lotor stopped him and tried to redirect the bullet. Without him, I'd probably be dead."

Krolia frowned. "I don't understand. He was the enemy."

"With all due respect, I consider myself more of an anti hero at this point," Lotor said dryly. "I helped you and in return, you helped me."

Keith nodded. "Well, whatever you are, you saved my life." 

Pidge eyed him critically. "You can just say 'thank you', Keith. Lotor won't gloat or bite."

"I won't?" Lotor asked teasingly, a small smirk in the edges of his lips.

Pidge glared at him, Lotor chuckling. 

"Fine fine, I won't."

Keith sighed. "Thank you, Lotor, for saving our asses from Zarkon."

Pidge nodded. The trio watched as the paramedics loaded Keith into the ambulance after sterilizing his wound a bit, Keith waving with his good arm. 

"Pidge, go home and tell your parents you're okay. My parents are probably going to meet me at the hospital." He groaned, realizing what he said. 

"I am so grounded after tonight."

Pidge chuckled lightly. "Don't die, Keith. I need you."

"I'll try not to." He waved as Shiro made his way into the ambulance beside him, accompanying him on the ride to the hospital. The doors shut and the ambulance sped off towards the nearest hospital where Lance and Zarkon were also being treated. 

Lotor scratched at his bandages, pouting. "This stupid thing is itchy."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "How'd you get stabbed, anyways? Your–" She stopped herself. "Zarkon," she corrected, "seemed to work better with a gun."

"He's trained since he was a teenager to fight in wars. Believe me, I was lucky he didn't dig the knife any deeper into my arm," Lotor muttered bitterly, gesturing towards his arm. "Now I have to suffer for more than a week with this!"

Acxa walked over towards them, her arms folded across her chest. 

"Nice bandage," she commented, looking at Lotor's arm. "The white matches your hair."

Pidge snorted, not attempting to cover her mouth as a smile appeared on her face. 

Lotor huffed. "Acxa, I may be crippled, but I am not deaf."

"Mhm." She looked down at Pidge. "How's Keith? I heard he was shot by Zarkon."

Pidge shrugged. "Your brother is strong. A bullet wound in the arm isn't going to kill him."

"It could've hit multiple nerves," Krolia intercepted, butting into the conversation. "He could fall into a coma at any second!"

Pidge sighed. "Krolia, Keith's going to be fine. Worst case scenario, he has a scar. I feel worse for Lance, who's the one whose probably going to spend at least a week in the hospital." She winced. "Fuck. What if he doesn't graduate?"

Lotor shook his head. "As long as he's able to walk by the end of the week and not collapse, he should be fine for graduation. I, on the other hand, most likely won't even be graduating."

Pidge frowned. "What?"

"I have to get out of here before the Galra try to find me. They're going to kill me if they find out that I was the one who shot my father, and lawsuits are going to be made, and I really do not want to be involved in that."

"But it's not like you can't stay hidden until graduation is over," Pidge said. "You could hide out at someone's house and graduate with us. Also, Zarkon technically can't sue anyone for damage because he wasn't supposed to be on campus. He's going to get some cover up story."

Lotor chuckled. "You really care now, don't you? It feels like a few hours ago you wanted me in a grave."

"That's before you saved Keith," Pidge said dismissively. "Look, all I'm saying is that you could hypothetically hide out until graduation. I could get my family to take you in."

"Yeah, I don't think so. Mom would kill you for that," Matt said from his spot behind Pidge. 

Pidge jumped, turning around and hugging Matt tightly. 

"Matt! You're still here!"

Matt grinned. "What, you expect me to just fade into dust? Of course I'm still here, Pidge!"

"Do you think mom would let us take Lotor in?"

"If she hears how he helped you tonight, possibly. But then again, you told her all about your failed romance with him, so I'm pretty sure she hates him. I, on the other hand," Matt announced, "am ok the side that states that Lotor is some sort of anti hero."

"Thank you!" Lotor said, throwing his uninjured arm up. "Someone else thinks the same way as I do!"

Pidge shook her head. She turned to look up at Matt, her face going somber. "Did you talk to Marisol?"

Matt frowned. "Yeah, I did." He rubbed the back of his neck. "She yelled at me in Spanish for a good two minutes then proceeded to tell me that she's on her way to the hospital. Now I don't know if I have a girlfriend or not."

Pidge sighed. "Look, your girlfriend is uninjured. Keith has a bullet in his arm—"

"Holy shit! Do you think he'll let me keep the bullet?"

Upon receiving weird looks from those around him, including a dirty look from Krolia, Matt composed himself. 

"I mean, wow, that sucks. Do you think he's going to die?"

"He's not going to die!" Pidge said exasperatedly. "Why does everyone think that he’s going to die?!”

"All the good main characters always die," Matt said woefully. "That's the harsh reality of our story."

"What are you even talking about?"

Matt waved her off. "Tell you later." He looked at Lotor, who was still scratching the area around his bandage. "Back to Lotor, though, I really think mom might let him stay, but only in the treehouse and away from you until he proves himself worthy."

Acxa raised a brow. "She would?"

"You're right, she wouldn't."

Pidge sighed. "Look, Whatever the case is, you can't just leave Altea like that! You'll be throwing your entire life away! Didn't you get into a college?"

"All out of state. I made sure to plan my escape since September."

"See? You need to graduate! You can't go to college unless you graduate high school!"

Lotor shook his head. "I've made my decision, and I hope that you can leave it be. My decision is mine, and Acxa, Ezor, Zethrid, and Narti's decisions are all up to them."

Ezor raised her brows. "Does that mean we don't have to run away with you to Canada?"

Lotor chuckled. "No, Ezor. I would never do something like that to you."

"Oh bless your soul," Ezor said, sighing in relief. 

Acxa frowned. "But where would you be going?"

"As far away as I can. Maybe California or New York. Who knows? Probably Canada though. Just far enough for the press to forget about me and not persecute me for something I didn't do, which my father is going to obviously use against me if he lives," Lotor said distastefully. 

Acxa sighed. "This is too much to handle in one night. We'll have a full ok conversation, because I too, feel like I'm going to be targeted a lot if I just stay here."

Lotor nodded. "You're right. We'll talk over it in the morning after we get some sleep."

Krolia looked down at her watch. "It's one in the morning. You should all go home and rest," she said, motioning for Lotor to get off the rear end of one of the empty ambulances. "Especially those who are going to make a dash to the hospital the minute visiting hours are open," Krolia said, eyeing Pidge.

Pidge blushed and shrugged. "Yeah well, whatever. I'll get enough sleep. You don't have to worry about me."

She turned to Lotor, her brows creasing together. "I'm worried about your though. Where are you sleeping tonight?"

"A sewer," Lotor deadpanned. "A sewer to scare the children."

"I'm serious!"

"Okay fine. I don't know."

"I'm pretty sure we can set you up with one of our families, even if you do have to sleep in a tree house or a tent," Pidge said. 

Lotor shook his head. "Knowing Haggar, the witch will spend her days with the old fool until he dies or gets better. She's going to inject him with some stupid medicine she's created, I can feel it."

Pidge sighed. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Worst case scenario, I'll crash over at Acxa's. Relax," he reassured her, "I'll be fine. Now go home and rest. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow at the hospital."

Pidge patted his bandages softly before running off in the direction where Allura was, leaving Krolia to talk to Lotor alone. She made her way into Allura's car, Hunk, Plaxum, Matt, and Shay squeezing in. 

One by one, they were dropped off at their homes, each parent receiving their child with open arms and tears of relief. The only ones that didn't do so were Keith and Lance's parents, who were going to be in the hospital until further notice. 

Allura pulled into Pidge's driveway, allowing her to get off. Pidge waved at the woman as she unlocked her front door, collapsing on the floor in front of BaeBae, letting herself lay on the ground, unmoving. 

"Katie?! Matt?!" 

Sam walked out from the kitchen and gasped. "Colleen, I think our daughter just died on our rug!"

"I'm alive, dad," Pidge replied wearily. "And before you ask, nobody died except for maybe Zarkon, Lance was knocked out by the force of the bomb, and Keith has a bullet in his arm. Other than that, we're okay."

Colleen rushed over towards her daughter, picking her up and crushing her in a hug. "I was so worried!"

"I know," Pidge said, "I know." She hugged her mom back tightly, Sam joining the hug, Matt walking in and hugging the three as well. 

For some odd reason, Pidge felt the urge to cry. It felt so surreal knowing that after months of anticipation for the prom disaster, it was finally over. No one had died, and they were all going to graduate as seniors in two weeks. Life finally felt like it was going right.

And for the first time in a long while, she allowed herself to cry and laugh at the same time, in the arms of her family, who didn't judge her for it. They understood. They cared. 

She finally felt safe, once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More than 120k words later and the battle is finally overrrrr. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	38. Love You Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the prom night disaster finally over, the team has one last struggle to face: graduation. The week before graduation, however, is full with shocking revelations that are both welcome and hurtful, especially for Keith. Meanwhile, Lance is finally okay and Lotor makes an appearance one last time before taking a drastic action that will define his future.

_Bodies lay scattered all over the ground, blood seeping out of them from various gunshot wounds. The air was full of the stench of burning rubber, the Castle itself on fire under the dome that prevented policemen and firemen from entering the building._

_Allura lay on the ground crying her heart out, Coran trying to protect her as more bullets were shot at them, impaling both the girl and the man. Allura's screams filled the air as she was shot in the head, collapsing next to Shiro's lifeless body. Coran fell after her, Alfor's three successors killed in cold blood by the hands of Zarkon_.

_Keith stood frozen in the middle of the piles of dead bodies, watching Lotor try to stand up against his father, only to be shot in the head. He collapsed at Keith's feet, the room deathly quiet except for the pounding on the metal dome from the outside._

_Zarkon snarled as he turned around and saw Keith, his eyes narrowing in pure hatred. Raising his gun, he aimed it at something behind him, the boy's eyes widening as Zarkon moved to the side, revealing Pidge being held by two other Galra, tears streaming down her face as their eyes met._

_"Pidge!" Keith called out hoarsely, his eyes scrunching closed as he felt tears of his own start rolling down his cheeks._

_"Say goodbye," Zarkon hissed with a sinister grin, "because you'll never see her again!"_

_The gun went off, the bullet embedding itself in Pidge's skull. Her body was released and she collapsed on the ground, her hands falling limply at her sides as she lay still. Her eyes were scrunched closed, her honey brown curls framing her face, which had blood trickling down the sides of it._

_"No!"_

Keith gasped and bolted upright in his chair, eyes wide with fear as he frantically looked around the room, looking for Pidge. All he saw was sunlight streaming through the hospital window, the tv faintly playing in the background. He lifted his hands up, wincing when he moved his right arm. Glancing down, he saw multiple bandages wrapped around his arm.

"Keith?" Shiro's voice called out, tentatively reaching out to touch his brother's shoulder, "what's wrong?"

Keith's breathing slowly returned to normal as he spotted his brother, staring into his large, worried brown eyes.

"Nothing! Everything's fine...Why are you asking?"

Shiro shook his head. "Keith, I'm your brother. You can't lie to me. Besides," he said, gesturing towards Keith's face, "you're as pale as a ghost. What's wrong?"

Keith dropped his gaze to his hands, emitting a small sigh. 

"You're right. I can't lie to you." He turned to face him. eyes wide with fear. "I had a nightmare," he whispered, "where everyone died because of Zarkon. Everyone was dead, and Allura was crying because you were dead. Everything was just so wrong," he murmured, averting his gaze from his brother, "and then Pidge appeared, and I just..." 

He stopped talking and lowered his body into his chair, face contorting into a small, sad frown. 

Shiro looked over at his brother, looking crestfallen at hearing his words. He sounded like a scared five year old.

"Oh Keith..." He leaned over and gave Keith a tight hug, closing his eyes and carding his fingers through Keith's hair. "I'm so sorry you had to go through this."

Keith sighed. "Don't be. It's just me being oversensitive."

"It's not," Shiro reassured him. "In fact, it's normal. You just went through something that no person should have to face, and it's bound to have some effect on you. Your nightmares will pass, you just, have to wait it out a while."

Keith cast him a long, deep look before letting his head fall back. 

"Have they said anything about Lance?"

Shiro sighed. "They say he'll probably be up in a few hours. I'm honestly a little surprised that he hasn't woken up yet."

Keith sighed and cast Lance's body a long , worried look. 

"Me too."

Lance looked...dead, yet peaceful at the same time. Keith groaned tiredly, slumping his left hand across his eyes. 

"I want to fucking die."

"I've always said that I wanted to die before Friday, but now, I'm just glad I'm alive," Shiro responded. 

"I'm tired and got a bullet removed from my arm like four days ago. Please, let me die."

Shiro shook his head. "I don't know what's going on through your head, but wanting to die seems stupid when you were fighting to stay conscious in an ambulance four days ago," he responded, getting up and walking towards the door of the room. 

He paused, turning around to face his brother. "I'm going to go get coffee with mom. Want anything to drink? Water? Apple juice?"

"The blood of my—"

"Apple juice it is!" Shiro cast at his brother a wary look before walking out of the room, shutting the door closed behind him. 

Keith emitted a long sigh, looking at the tv with a bored expression. It had been more than three days since the whole prom fiasco, and Lance still wasn't up and cracking dumbass comments like he tended to. As much as Keith didn't want to admit it, he missed hearing his friend being an idiot. It was boring without him. 

He heard the door creak open, turning his attention from the tv to the person entering the room. 

"Who's there?" He called out, instinctively clenching his fists, ready to fight despite the fact that his arm was still injured. "Show yourself!"

"Will you calm down? It's just us," Pidge's voice called out as she stepped into the room, Matt following her. 

Keith breathed a sigh of relief, letting his shoulders and hands relax. 

"For a second there, I thought you were Zarkon coming to finish me off."

Matt closed the door shut gently behind him, turning to look at Keith worriedly. 

"Why would Zarkon be allowed anywhere near you or Lance? Haven't you heard that he's in a coma?"

Keith's eyes widened. "No, I didn't. Where'd you hear that from?"

"Lotor," Pidge simply replied, taking a seat next to Keith. "It's all over the news, too." 

Keith frowned. "What are they saying? Is it permanent or is he going to wake up soon like Lance?"

Matt shrugged, taking a seat on the chair next to Lance's bed opposite from his sister. "No one knows. His wife just said that Zarkon lost a lot of blood from the bullet wound and that he's in a coma, but other than that, he's alive. Sadly."

"Speaking of bullets..." Matt continued, a grin forming on his face, "what did they do to yours? Can I keep it?" He asked eagerly, eyes gleaming. "Please?!"

Keith and Pidge both shot Matt a dirty look. 

"Seriously?" Keith asked, utterly bewildered. "I told you the day after prom that you are not going to keep my bullet! That's just weird, dude."

Matt pouted. "Come on! It's not every day that one of my best friends gets shot! Think of the possibilities! I can woo chicks over by saying that I saved girls from being shot, and the bullet can prove it!"

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Keith, ignore my idiot of a brother. And Matt, don't you have a girlfriend already?" She asked, sending him a dirty look. "I don't think that Marisol or Mateo will be happy hearing you trying to 'woo chicks' like you say."

"There's a thing called loyalty, you know," Keith said, siding with Pidge. "Besides, the bullet isn't even yours. It was in my arm, and I'm keeping it for myself."

Pidge looked at Keith, clearly shocked. "You're keeping it? Why?"

Keith shrugged. "Don't know. What am I supposed to do, throw away evidence? For all we know, Zarkon could wake up and claim that he didn't shoot me."

"Hm." Pidge frowned. "Well, I guess so."

Matt groaned. "You seriously won't give me the bullet? Not even for safe keeping?"

Keith scoffed. "You? Safekeeping? I'd rather give the bullet to Pidge for safe keeping than you. Out of the two of you, she's less unorganized than you."

"Actually—"

"Don't argue with my logic," Keith said tiredly. 

He threw his head back, closing his eyes. 

"So why did you two come? Did you really only come to ask for the bullet?" He asked, not opening his eyes. 

"I came for the bullet, and because I wanted to check up on Lance. Why hasn't he woken up yet?" Matt asked, temporarily forgetting his anger of not being allowed to keep the bullet. "Did they find something else wrong with him?"

Keith shook his head. "No, he's fine as he could be after being knocked unconscious. The doctors told Marisol a while ago that he should be up today though, but not exactly when," he said, shaking his head.

Pidge shrugged, turning to look at Matt. "Hey, mind getting me some apple juice or something? I'm kind of thirsty."

"But Keith's right here," Matt replied, a shit eating grin on his face. "Wouldn't you rather have him instead of the apple juice?"

"Matthew Holt I swear I will punch that smug ass grin off your fucking face!" Pidge said in a strangled voice, her cheeks flushed. 

Matt grinned, getting up and walking towards the door. "Well, alright then. I'll go get your apple juice, but don't be too naughty while I'm gone!" He winked before walking out of the door, laughing to himself as he walked down the hallway. 

As soon as he was out of ear shot, Keith turned to look at Pidge with a smirk. 

"You thirsty? I'm right here, you know."

"If you weren't already injured I'd slap that shit eating grin off your face," she replied, her face flushed a light shade of red. 

Keith chuckled. "I'm just playing with you. Seriously though, if you wanted to spend some alone time together you could've just waited for me to get home. We could've just watched a movie or something at my house."

Pidge shook her head, inching closer towards Keith and leaning her head on his shoulder. "No, I needed you to comfort me now. I'm touch starved."

Upon noticing Keith's perturbed expression, she sighed. 

"I had another nightmare," she confessed. "It was really bad, and that's all I'm going to say."

"Did you get any sleep?" 

"No. Every time I tried, that stupid image form my nightmare came up and I couldn't stop worrying about you." She intertwined their hands, looking down at them wistfully. "It was really bad and made me realize just how glad I am that you're here."

Keith frowned. "I'm not going anywhere. Trust me, it's going to take a lot more than a bullet wound to kill me. Someone famous once said, 'you can't kill me, I'm a bad bitch', and those exact words are what I follow."

Pidge snorted lightly. "You can't just quote vines in the middle of our heartfelt conversions, Keith. That kinda throws the whole mood off."

Keith laughed. "Okay okay, I'm sorry." He frowned. "If it's any consolation though, I was woken up by a nightmare that felt a little too real."

"That actually doesn't make me feel better," Pidge said, looking at Keith worriedly. "What was it about?"

"My greatest fear," Keith mumbled, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. "Losing you."

Pidge went silent for a moment, staring at the wall next to Lance's bed in quiet thought. 

"You really do care about me, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Keith said, eyes going wide, "I've always cared about you more than I've cared about myself! I swear, you died in my dream and for the five seconds I watched you die, I realized that I couldn't live in a world without you. I know this sounds cheesy, but you're my entire fucking universe, even though we fight like crazy at times over the most stupidest things."

Pidge glanced up at Keith, a small smile forming on her face. "The feeling is mutual, fucktard."

"Wow. Your pet names are so amazing."

"They're unique," she corrected, "don't get the two mixed up. I'm unique. You should be pleased to have me as your girlfriend."

"I can't believe you can go from lovey dovey to full of yourself in less than a minute," Keith said, arching a brow. "Are you sure you aren't possessed or something?"

"Me? Possessed?" Pidge scoffed. "You should look at yourself. You're the one who went all lovey dovey on me for no reason, not that I'm complaining."

Keith shrugged. "I'm tired. This feels so strange. I'm never this affectionate."

"Being in an affectionate relationship is weird," Pidge said, shrugging. "I've only known manipulative bitches."

"Oh speaking of those, how's Lotor? Is he still here or did he run off to Canada already?" Keith asked, letting go of Pidge's hand to switch the channel on the tv with the control remote. 

"He's still here. He wants to talk to you too, like everyone else does. Well, mainly Acxa, Lotor, and Krolia. They all want to say something to you for some strange reason."

Keith groaned. "Great. More boring conversations. Please kill me already."

"Can't do that. I love you too much," she replied. 

"Aw," Keith teased, leaning down in an attempt to press a kiss to her cheek, "that's adorable." 

The door creaked open once again and Pidge immediately moved to the edge of her seat away from Keith, leaving Keith to pout in annoyance. 

Krolia poked her head in, looking around suspiciously before walking in, shutting the door quietly behind her. 

"Krolia?" Keith asked confusedly, tilting his head to the side. "Why are you sneaking around? It's a hospital room, not a Blade mission."

Krolia straightened up, smiling sheepishly. "You're right, but I have to say something that I really don't want anyone overhearing. Is Aiko here?"

Keith shook his head. "She's probably with Shiro and Allura getting coffee. Why?"

Pidge hopped off the bed, coughing as she walked towards Krolia. "You have really, really bad timing." She walked out of the room, mumbling something about having to find her brother, leaving Krolia and Keith alone. 

Keith looked at Krolia, who seemed to be awkwardly avoiding him. 

"If you're just going to stand there and say nothing, why bother showing up?" Keith blurted out, arching a brow. "It feels like you're just stalking me."

Krolia let out a long sigh before taking a seat next to Keith, looking uncharacteristically nervous. 

"I am not stalking you, I'm just thinking of how to say this without you freaking out."

She was interrupted by the door opening again, Acxa poking her head through the small crack. 

"Keith? Can I talk to you?"

"Its kind of crowded already—"

"Actually, you can come in. What I'm going to say applies to both of you," Krolia said, motioning for Acxa to walk in. 

Acxa exchanged a look with Keith, who only shrugged in response. She slid inside and shut the door, walking slowly towards Keith and taking a seat on the opposite side of where Krolia was sitting. 

"Why do you need both of us here?" She questioned, looking directly at Krolia. "I've never talked to you in my life before prom."

Krolia emitted a small sigh, closing her eyes and drawing her brows together. 

"I have some news that I think will interest the both of you." Opening her eyes, she looked up at the two of them with a stoic expression. 

"It's about your biological mother."

Keith and Acxa's eyes widened, the two exchanging a look before looking at Krolia bewilderedly. 

"How did you know—" 

"I've been talking to Aiko for a while now and she slipped in that you and Acxa have been looking for your biological mother during the past few months."

"Do you have any useful information that could help us find her?" Acxa quickly asked, her brows slightly furrowing. "A phone number? Picture we can identify her with? Something?"

Keith placed his left hand on Acxa'a shoulder. "Calm down. She's going to tell us what she knows, right Krolia?" He asked, looking at Krolia with wide, dark purple eyes. 

Krolia felt her heart twist in different directions as she watched her two children look up at her with pleading expressions, lines of worry on their foreheads and slightly parted lips. For once, she saw just how similar the two were. The last time she had seen them, they were left in the arms of their father...

"Krolia?" Keith asked, bringing her back to reality, "Are you okay?"

Acxa looked at Krolia suspiciously. "You look sick," she commented. "Why are you stalling? I don't like being toyed with, you know."

Krolia shook her head. "I know you don't." She lowered her head, closing her eyes and drawing out a small sigh. "And I know you don't either, Keith."

"Why are you stalling?" Keith asked, slightly impatient. "Do you not want to tell us who our mom is?"

Krolia squeezed her eyes shut tightly once more before snapping them open, her expression suddenly stoic as she looked into his eyes. 

"No. I know exactly who she is."

"Then say it!" Acxa said, uncharacteristically pleading. 

"Keith, you know that blade you keep by your side?"

"The one I've had ever since I was a kid?" Keith asked slowly, drawing his brows together. "Of course I know it. I just lost it in the...battle..." he trailed off, watching Krolia present it in front of him. "Holy shit."

"Knives aren't allowed in the—"

"I know, Acxa."

Krolia sighed. "Look, this blade is special. It's one used by Blade members, and can be used as a sword, but only if you press the correct spot and have Galra lineage running through your veins."

Keith frowned. "We all know that Galra and Alteans are different, but what stops an Altean from using it?"

"The term Galra is derived from ancient ancestors that dealt with magic and, well, aliens," she said. "Alteans also dealt with magic, but on a lesser scale. They dealt with light magic, not dark magic. That's why there's a negative stigma around the Galra, and also why Galra are the only ones allowed to be Blade members."

"So there's magic in Keith's veins," Acxa commented. "Wow. But I'm part Galra, and I've never been able to—"

"You've never tried it," Keith said, a frown persisting on his face. "You never tried to use it. I turned it into a sword halfway through the battle."

Krolia nodded. "It's only activated when a person with Galra blood uses it. It's also the weapon that the Blade uses when taking on actual crimes," she continued, locking eyes with Acxa. 

Acxa pursed her lips. "So our mother is a member of the Blade."

"Yes." 

Acxa quickly looked down at the blade in Krolia's hands, pinching her brows together as she mulled over what Krolia was saying. She suddenly snapped her neck up, looking at Krolia with wide, angry eyes.

Keith looked carefully over at Krolia. "So you can use it, right?"

"Yes."

Keith frowned. "You used mine when you took down some Galra in the Castle during prom. How were you able to use it then?" He asked, looking up at her curiously. 

Krolia inhaled sharply, momentarily closing her eyes. Acxa already knew, but she was waiting for the words to come out of Krolia's mouth. Krolia had waited months to tell them, but it seemed so impossible now that she could. 

She looked up at Keith's narrowed eyes, her heart clenching at the thought of his reaction. 

She finally stood up straight, looking at him stoically. 

"Because it used to be mine...before I gave it to your father."

She watched Keith's eyes widen to the size of saucers, his brows lifting. 

"You're my...?"

"Mother," Acxa finished for him, looking at Krolia angrily. "You're our mother."

Krolia nodded in confirmation. 

Keith remained frozen in place, letting the words run through his mind as he tried to process them. 

_You're my mother._

"Keith?" Krolia asked tentatively, reaching out a hand to pat his shoulder, "are you alright?"

"You're my mom," he breathed out, lips patting as he looked down at his hands. 

"Yes?"

A sudden anger took over Keith as he clenched his fists, snapping his necks round to face her. 

"You waited months to tell me this?!" He shouted with rage, eyes narrowing into slits. "You couldn't tell me right after you met me?"

"I couldn't—"

"You could've," Acxa spat, a hurt expression on her features. "You could've told us both."

"I didn't know you both knew each other and I wasn't allowed to tell you! My job is something important—"

"That was clear after you abandoned us for your job," Keith hissed, his hands shaking. "You told me how you left your kids for your job, and now I find out that we're the kids. Do you know how fucked up that is?!"

"I know, but—!"

"Do you know how damaged I've felt my entire life knowing that the family I was with wasn't really mine? Do you know how much I've suffered because I've never had you, my mother, by my fucking side?!" Keith yelled, his fists trembling. "Do you, Krolia?!"

Krolia swallowed the lump in her throat. "I had no choice! I had a job to think about!"

Keith licked his lips, his eyes going watery as he glared heavily at her. 

"Your job was to stay," he said in a strangled voice.

He turned to his left and slowly got off his chair, Acxa and Krolia both looking at him like he was crazy. 

"Keith, I know this is a lot to process, but you can't run away from it—"

"Like you would know anything about not running away from situations," Keith spat out, holding his right arm with his left, walking towards the door. 

"Keith," Acxa called out, reaching out for him, "Pidge is coming back—"

"I'm going home!" He snapped, pulling the door open and stepping out of the room, ignoring Acxa and Krolia's pleas. 

He slammed the door shut and leaned against the door, scrunching his eyes together tightly. It was too much for him to handle. It was so sudden, and he couldn't take it.

He needed to get away from it all. 

He suddenly ran down the hallway, the various nurses calling after him like he was crazy, but Keith paid no attention to them. He ignored Pidge's calls, running down the stairs to the hospital gardens, ignoring the searing pain in his arm. Reaching the gardens, he tripped on a twig and collapsed on the ground, slamming into concrete harshly. 

"Keith? Keith!" 

Pidge rushed towards him, lifting his face up and cupping it between her hands. 

"Are you okay? What the fuck were you thinking?!"

"Krolia..." Keith managed to mumble out before feeling tears start forming in his eyes. He looked away, ashamed. 

"She's my mom...I found her, Pidge."

Pidge's eyes widened. "Isn't that a good thing? You found your birth mom!"

Keith shook his head, slowly sitting up and looking at his girlfriend miserably. 

"Of course it is, but I feel so robbed. She waited so long, Pidge. She waited until I was out of the woods and not in danger of fucking dying to tell me! I could've died and she would've never told me—!"

He was silenced by Pidge wrapping her arms around his torso, embracing him tightly. 

"You're not dead, and you're here," she said in a low, soothing voice, "and she's here too. You need to stop focusing on the past and focus more on the future. She's here and ready to be your mom, the one she could never be. You can't push her away, Keith."

"But—"

"Shh. She's here, and you're here. Accept her love. Telling you that she's your mom isn't easy shit, and she's telling you because she wants to be a part of your life. Don't push those who love you away," she finished, peering up at him sympathetically. "She loves you, or else she would've never told you. Let her love you."

Keith looked down at her ashamedly, shaking his head. 

"I don't understand, Pidge. I want to understand, but I can't. It hurts so much knowing that she didn't tell me immediately because of her job."

"But she told you, and that to me seems like something done right," she said gently. "If she told you before, you would've reacted the same way. The important thing is that she told you, and that she's willing to be your mother now."

Keith frowned. "I just...need some time to think about it. I know it sounds stupid, but I feel hurt. I just need some time to process it and accept it."

"You're happy though, right?"

"I am, I really am. I just feel hurt in some way."

Pidge smiled softly. "You found her, Keith. Don't let your fear of letting her in make you lose her again."

"I have so many questions," he muttered. 

Pidge stood up and extended a hand towards him, motioning for him to stand up. Keith looked at her with a smile and accepted her hand, hoisting himself up back onto his feet. 

"I know you do, but for now, we have to visit Lance. If my calculations are correct, something amazing is going to happen soon," she said, her tone happy. 

"Oh?" Keith asked, momentarily forgetting his predicament. 

"Come on!" She urged, tugging on his uninjured arm. 

"Woah!"

* * *

When they reached Lance's room, Keith looked at everyone crowded inside the room in confusion. 

"Why is everyone here?"

Allura turned around to face him, a small excited smile etched onto her features. 

"Lance should be up in a few minutes, and we wanted be here so he wouldn't wake up to an empty room."

"How do you know it's a few more minutes?" Pidge asked, scrunching her nose. "It's not like there's a timer."

"The medicine in his body is about to reach its end, and once it does, it should leave him in a position to be fully awake," Allura supplied, crossing her arms across her chest. 

Once she finished speaking, they all turned their attention towards Lance, watching his chest rise up and down as he inhaled and exhaled. 

After a few minutes of watching Lance, Hunk broke the silence. 

Hunk grunted. "I can't tell if looks healthy...or not." 

Pidge shrugged, joining in the conversation. "I think he's breathing weird."

"Oh come on!" Keith said exasperatedly, attempting to poke Lance's face. 

He was pulled back by Allura, the woman looking at him in annoyance. 

"Not yet! There's still a few more ticks left!"

"How much better do you think he's going to get in a few more 'ticks'?" Keith asked crossly, pouting childishly. 

Pidge rolled her eyes, pulling out her phone and setting a timer. 

"Look, we'll just set a timer for the approximate time the medicine will be done running its course. I have it on my phone, so it should be—"

"Wait a tick!" Coran said, taking a stand next to her and shaking his head, "I don't trust those contraptions at all. They are so...unreliable! Fascinating, but unreliable. No, if we're going to measure the time, we'll use my ticker!" 

He pulled a small contraption out of his pocket, holding it out proudly in front of him. 

Pidge arched a brow. "What's exactly is a tick?"

Allura sighed. "It's an old way of measuring a certain time measurement. It's derived from the words of our ancient ancestors, the original Alteans."

Shiro hummed. "What, like a second?"

"A tick," Coran corrected, holding out his timer next to Pidge's phone. "Mine is factually correct! Yours is...eh," he said, eyeing Pidge's phone warily. 

Hunk eyed the ticker warily. "Eh, I don't know. I think ticks are a little bit slower." 

Pidge scoffed. "Sure. Let's see just how well your 'ticker' works," she said, eyeing Coran with a smirk. 

Hunk grinned. "A challenge! Ready, set—"

"Go!" Coran and Pidge both shouted at the same time, starting their timers. 

Both the ticker and timer started counting, Pidge and Coran eyeing each of their devices suspiciously as the beeping was heard in the background. Everyone huddled around, leaving Lance alone. 

"Yes! I think we're winning!" Hunk said gleefully. 

"Winning what? The alien versus human time measuring competition?" Keith deadpanned, looking at Hunk incredulously. 

"Yes," Hunk replied without hesitation, eyeing Keith straight in his eyes. 

Unbeknownst to the group, Lance had started regaining consciousness. He opened his eyes, blinking rapidly and looking around for the source of the noise that he had heard. 

"You're crazy," Keith said, shaking his head, eyeing Hunk.

"You guy's having a clock party?" Lance asked, eyeing his groups of friends standing in front of him with tired eyes. 

The group immediately turned around in shock. Hunk, on the other hand, only groaned as he glanced up at Lance. 

"Aw Lance, you just ruined it." His eyes widened as he realized that Lance was awake, a huge smile taking over his features as he scrambled over towards his best friend, embracing him in a bone crushing hug. 

"Hey, Lance!"

The entire group, including Keith, smiled upon seeing their friend up and alive. 

Matt grinned, walking over towards Lance and ruffling his hair. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

Lance groaned. "What happened? Everything's kind of a blur," he confessed, raising his hand up and scratching the back of his head. 

Hunk cleared his throat. "Allow me to explain." He took a deep breath, saying, "You've been asleep for three days, Keith got shot, Zarkon is in a coma, Lotor isn't a huge piece of shit like we thought, and hospital apple juice tastes really weird." 

Lance arched a brow. "Wow. Wait, Keith got shot and Zarkon's in a coma?" His eyes widened. "Did you get shot trying to stop Zarkon?"

Keith chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Kind of? I didn't stop him, though. Lotor had to save me before I got shot in the fucking heart."

"Well, you were already shot in the heart," Matt said, grinning and waggling his brows as he eyed his sister. The female Holt only rolled her eyes at her brother's childlessness.

"Wow. Wait, Lotor helped you?" Lance asked in disbelief. "Wasn't he the bad guy we were fighting? The one who set off the bomb?"

Pidge shook her head. "If it wasn't for Lotor, we would all be dead. He helped me get around and the girls helped Hunk and Coran take down the Galra while we figured out a way to lower the stupid barrier."

Lance gaped at her. "A barrier?"

"This huge as fuck dome came over the Castle. I swear I felt like we were living in a zombie apocalypse," Keith said. 

Lance sighed. "And I was dead the entire time."

"Yes, but you saved me," Coran said, raising a finger. "You, my boy, are being crowned as a hero on tv for that."

Allura chuckled, walking towards Lance's right side and sending him smile. 

"You're a hero, Lance. The entire world—"

"Hold up!" Lance interrupted, staring at Allura wide eyed. "Before anyone else says anything, can you please tell me why the hell you're wearing maternity clothes?!"

Allura's smile slipped and she quickly turned to face Shiro, who only shrugged and sent her a sheepish smile.

Keith snapped his finger. "I knew I wasn't hallucinating when Allura was telling me she was having Shiro's kid!"

Shiro arched a brow. "When did you say that?" He asked Allura.

Allura chuckled nervously. "When I was yelling at him because he yelled at me for pacing."

"Well, so much for a surprise," Matt grumbled, pouting. "I wanted to see how everyone would react over dinner. Keith would've choked on his pork chop, Lance would've started to plan the baby shower, and Hunk would've started to cry."

Hunk's eyes widened. "Wait, so Allura's pregnant?"

"Three months," she said, smiling. "You can barely see the bump forming, but the baby is there. I did start wearing maternity clothes though, so you have quite the sharp eye, Lance. It's more comfortable that regular clothes at this point."

"I knew it!" Lance said excitedly, a huge smile smiling spreading over his features.

Allura chuckled, turning to look at Coran. She was surprised to find him crying, his cheeks stained with tears.

"Coran...?"

"You're having a little child!" Coran wailed, "You're so grown up!"

"Coran, I grew up when I turned eighteen."

"But it's a baby, Allura! Oh, you and Shiro probably made one of the most prettiest babies in the world!"

"Coran!" Allura said, fighting a rising blush, "that is not something that you say!"

"I think it's true," Matt said, agreeing with Coran, "If Shiro is the baby daddy and you're the mom, then that kid is going to be beautiful."

"Matt," Pidge warned.

"What? I'm just saying what's on everyone's minds!"

Lance shook his head, grinning. "Wow. So much happened while I was asleep." He frowned, arching a brow in confusion. "Oh yeah, I had some weird dream that Pidge and Keith were dating and that Krolia was Keith's mom. They were wild."

Pidge and Keith exchanged a quick look before stepping a few inches away from one another, sending Lance annoyed looks.

"Dude. No."

"I agree with her," Keith said, crossing his arms. "Now with the Krolia thing, I think you just predicted the future."

"I knew there was a reason why she looked so familiar the first time we saw her," Hunk said, snapping his fingers. "Aha! It's the hair!"

Lance snorted. "Yeah. She has a rat tail that she calls a ponytail while Keith has a mullet. At least now we know you didn't get your bad hairstyle sense from your dad."

Keith rolled his eyes. "You wake up and the first thing you do is insult my hair. Why am I friends with you again?"

"Because I'm totally dashing and amazing with a hint of sexy?"

"Definitely not," Pidge said, gagging.

Allura shook her head. "It's been an eventful ten minutes with...a lot of new information," she said, quickly eyeing Keith, "but you should probably eat something. Are you hungry? We can ask the nurses to bring you something to eat."

Lance grinned. "Princess, are you asking me out on a date?" He teased, receiving groans from everyone else in the room.

"Yep, he's back," Shiro said, a small smile on his face.

"Classic," Keith muttered, rolling his eyes.

"There he is," Pidge said, eyeing Lance with an annoyed look.

After a few minutes, everyone was either seated or standing around Lance, chattering animatedly with the boy and filling him in on the full events of what transpired during prom night.

"You and Shiro would be Sendak's prisoners right now if not for Pidge," Allura said, taking Shiro's hand and squeezing it tightly.

Pidge shrugged. "Well, you wouldn't have survived if Hunk and Coran hadn't managed to take down most of the Galra that were guarding the Castle."

"Hey, Shay and Plaxum helped too," Hunk intervened. "And Lotor's girl squad too, but they're irrelevant." 

Pidge shook her head. "Scratch that. All the girls were doing the dirty work while Coran and Hunk played with fake guns in the background."

Lance chuckled. "Wow. I can't believe there was an entire money vault under the Castle. What kind of dumbass does that?"

"Alfor," everyone said in unison.

Lance shook his head. "Allura, your father almost got you killed because of money."

"Well, it was actually over control of Altea."

"Same difference," Lance said, waving her off. "Oh yeah, where's my family? Did they forget me or something?" He asked, trying to sound playful.

"Nah," Hunk responded, "they're at Carolina and Mateo's recital. They said they'd get here as soon as possible, which probably won't be for another hour."

"Wait, if they're at their recital, that means that there's school," Lance said. He narrowed his eyes, eyeing his friends. "What are you guys doing out of school? We're supposed to be taking...finals," he said, his eyes widening.

"Fuck me backwards! I have to take finals before we graduate!"

Coran shrugged. "You already took most of your finals the week before prom, remember? You really only have to take one, and it's in a class that you have a hundred in."

"You mean your class?" Lance asked, arching a brow.

"Precisely," Coran said, grinning, "and if you agree to take a thirty multiple choice test on the parts of the human body as your final within the next week then you'll be all set."

Lance sighed in relief. "For a second I thought I had to take my calc final and I was going to have a mental breakdown."

Pidge shook her head. "That final was stupid. I got a stupid eighty five," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Calc? I failed most of my class tests but passed the AP test with a four," Matt said, shrugging. "Don't worry, your grades don't define you, despite popular belief."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Try explaining that to my mom. She had a panic attack when I slipped from a ninety to an eighty nine."

Lance grinned. "Dude, that's nothing. When I dropped from a hundred to a thirty in calc, my mother was ready to beat me with the chancla. I never studied so hard after that," he said, shuddering from the memory.

Shiro chuckled. "Well, it paid off. Your grades are great and now you're going on to study at Altea University. I call that a pretty big accomplishment."

Lance nodded. "Yeah, it is." He sighed. "I can't believe we're all graduating in a week and a half. It feels like yesterday when we were fighting in the lunchroom over pineapple on pizza," he said wistfully.

Pidge gagged. "I did not get permission to skip school for you to talk about pineapple on pizza, Lance."

Lance rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't have skipped school at all!"

Allura raised a hand. "Technically, she has permission to skip class. Remember Voltron? Today is the day for the science fair."

"If you're here, then who's representing Voltron?" Lance asked, his brows furrowing.

"We uh, didn't enter it," Shiro confessed. "We felt that if the entire team wasn't available to represent their lion then it would make no sense to show off our project. It's a team effort, after all."

Lance frowned. "I honestly wouldn't have minded. You could've gotten Allura to pretend to be the pilot of Blue, you know. You didn't have to draw out because of me."

Keith shook his head. "Like Shiro said; it's a team effort. You're the blue paladin, and we aren't going to present a project that we created together without the heart of Voltron," he said, smiling. "We'll enter it next year or something, but only if everyone I there to represent."

Pidge nodded. "Yeah. As much as you're an idiot—"

"Hey!"

"—you're our idiot and the heart of the team. We'll present the project next year, and we'll beat the competition's asses," she said, grinning.

"Teamwork makes the dream work, after all," Coran said, winking.

Allura arched a brow. "Coran? Why did you wink? "

"Oh, no reason."

Shiro shook his head, smiling. "Well, we should probably give Lance some time to breathe." He stood up, motioning for his friends to get up with him. 

Coran nodded. "It is lunch time, isn't it?"

"Who wants pizza?" Keith asked, smiling, "I'll pay."

"Woah, how generous of you," Pidge teased, a smirk on her face, "What's the occasion?"

"The occasion is that we're all finally back together and alive, obviously," he retorted, grinning. "What do you say? Pizza from Gennaio's?"

Pidge hummed. "It's a date," she declared, looking him dead in the eye before looking down at Lance with a grin. "Don't worry, we'll sneak back some pizza for you."

Lance breathed a sigh of relief. "Maybe you aren't a demon after all."

"That's debatable," Keith said nonchalantly.

"Well, if you're paying, then I'm totally down for pizza!" Matt said, slinging his arms around Shiro and Allura's necks. 

"Agreed," Shiro said, walking towards the door with his spouse and best friend.

"See you in a few dobashes," Coran said, waving at Lance as he walked out of the room.

Lance waved at his friends. "Yeah yeah, see you guys later or whatever." He arched a brow as he watched Pidge wait for Keith to unplug his phone from the charger, the girl looking fondly after her neighbor as he turned around to walk towards her.

He rolled his eyes. 

"Hey Keith? Can I talk to you alone for a bit?"

Keith and Pidge exchanged a look.

"Should I wait for you?"

"No, go ahead and catch up with the rest of them," Keith said, flashing her a smile. "I'll be down in a few."

Pidge shrugged. "Whatever you say, idiot." She turned and walked out of the door, shutting it closed behind her and leaving Lance and Keith alone.

"So what's up with you and Pidge?" Lance immediately asked, arching a brow.

Keith crossed his arms. "What are you talking about?"

"Quit the games, Keith. I know for a fact that I did not imagine your confession of love for Pidge in a dream. What's going on between you two?" He demanded, slightly pouting.

Keith shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing," he replied casually, "I think your shipping has taken over your mind."

"Uh huh. Totally," Lance deadpanned. He pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. "Listen, why are you putting each other through hell? If you like her, then just make a move, and if you're already dating, then it's kind of stupid for you to brush it off like it's nothing. It's a relationship with the girl you've been crushing on since middle school, so don't hide it."

"There's no relationship."

"You're an idiot," Lance said, narrowing his eyes. "It's obvious that there's something going on between you two, you know. By not telling anyone—"

"Lance, just stop," Keith said tiredly. "We aren't in a relationship, despite popular belief. Now go back to eating your...whatever that is," Keith said, eyeing Lance's food warily. "We'll bring you back some decent food when we come back." He quickly turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Lance to stare after him suspiciously.

He rolled his eyes. They were so _stupid_. He knew that they were a thing; he had heard them talking despite not being able to open his eyes due to the medicine. He wasn't stupid. These two were only putting each other through hell by denying the relationship that they had wanted for years. No one was breaking first, and it was honestly getting tiring.

He stuck another spoonful of hospital food into his mouth.

If they were waiting for a big reveal, he really hoped that it would be at graduation. That would spice up the night quite nicely.

He sighed, sticking another spoonful of food into his mouth.

Idiots.

* * *

The rest of the week passed rather quickly and before they knew it, it was Sunday and Lance was finally home. In typical Holt fashion, a party was thrown to celebrate his recovery and was hosted at the Holt residence on Sunday night.

Lance and Plaxum leaned back on the backyard porch swing laughing, watching the little kids, Marisol, and Matt play spin the bottle. Hunk was in the kitchen being scolded lightly by Colleen for leaving some dough on the counter. Shay and Florona were in the backyard with Ezor and Zethrid, talking about some band they loved, Papa Skull or something. The dads were all reunited around the grill watching Coran cook some steak 'Altea Style', Shiro eyeing the meat suspiciously and secretly judging the man's cooking skills. Keith was playing tag with Mateo and Carolina, Allura chatting with the other mothers about her pregnancy now that everyone knew. 

Meanwhile, Pidge was in the treehouse with Lotor, both pairs of legs dangling off the edge. 

Pidge sighed. "I can't believe you're really leaving Altea after graduation. What happened to being brave?"

"Well forgive me for wanting to see my twentieth birthday," Lotor replied dryly. "I know you constantly have a death wish, but I would like to stay alive."

"I'm cured of wanting to die, thank you very much," she retorted, rolling her eyes.

Lotor chuckled. "I can't believe that you get so overprotective over your words," he said din amusement. "You used to be so quiet."

"Well back then, you were a manipulative bitch, so it's kind of obvious that I would be quiet until I got fed up with your bullshit."

"Very true. But you love me now, don't you?"

Pidge shook her head. "Easy there, extension boy. I tolerate you for saving Keith and all of us. It's like you said, you're neither a good or bad guy. You're like an anti hero," she said, shrugging. "But yeah. I don't love you."

"Ow," Lotor said, putting a hand up to his chest, "that hurt so much." He raised a brow, watching Keith chase Mateo. "Isn't he still injured? Why isn't he resting?"

Pidge snorted. "By your concerned tone, you'd think that he's your boyfriend instead of mine." She realized her slip up and covered her mouth, but it was too late. Lotor's attention was already on her, and she was internally screaming.

"Your what?"

"Best friend?"

"Boyfriend," Lotor repeated, looking at her incredulously. "I genuinely thought you were only saying that in the walls because you wanted me to be jealous, but I didn't think you'd actually—"

"Well, surprise," she said, waving her hands in front of her, "we're a thing but won't tell anyone because Keith feels like it isn't the right time yet."

"That's stupid," Lotor declared. "Who has a girlfriend or boyfriend and doesn't show them off?"

"You," Pidge replied blandly. "You just described our entire relationship."

Lotor shook his head. "Let the past stay in the past, Katie. Right now, we're talking about you. If you really love him, then you'll show him off like the rich girls on Main Street show off their Uggs in the winter. You flaunt it, or in this case, him," he said, motioning towards Keith, who was sprawled facedown on the ground. 

Lotor grimaced. "No matter how odd the boy is. What is he doing?"

"Counting for hide and seek," Pidge said, shrugging. "He used to do it when we were kids. Guess the habit hasn't faded."

Lotor glanced between the two before shaking his head. "Alright then. In all seriousness, you should consider telling everyone. They would be thrilled, just as much as you were when Kieth finally confessed."

Pidge shrugged. "Whatever. Enough about me," she declared, eyeing Lotor warily. "Why are you really leaving Altea after graduation? Is it because you think people won't trust you? If that's why, I assure you that that's bullshit, because on the news, you've been painted as a hero for helping take down Zarkon."

Lotor sighed. "It's not just that, Katie. Haggar will be looking for any excuse to send out Zarkon's henchmen after me to kill me. I'm doing it to stay alive, and because I need a change of scenery. Altea frankly doesn't feel like home, and with all the lawsuits that have started appearing against Galra Industries, I need to get out before I'm hunted down. I'm leaving, but not forever, so don't think that this'll be the last you see of me."

Pidge frowned. "But you weren't the one who shot Zarkon. That was Keith."

"It doesn't matter. For Haggar, I almost killed her husband, and she will not let me live that down." He sighed, closing his eyes. 

"Why are you making it seem like I'm leaving already? Graduation is on Friday. We have until then to say goodbye. Just be happy we're alive and ready to move on in life."

Pidge frowned. "But you're leaving your old life behind for the unknown."

Lotor chuckled. "We're all moving on in life, and its better that way. Life moves on and we're just carried along with it. Pretty soon we'll be old, wrinkly, and dying. It's just life."

"Hm."

The two looked out over the people in the yard, watching them all have fun. 

Pidge sighed. "Look, I just want to say something."

"Go ahead," Lotor said, eyeing her carefully.

"I'm really thankful that I met you. You've taught me so many life lessons, even though I had to learn them through suffering. You taught me to never trust someone blindly, and you also taught me that you can be a total dick but have a change in heart and to never judge a book by its cover. You're a pain in my ass, but I think you're an okay guy after all."

He flashed her a genuine smile, Pidge returning the gesture.

"Pidge! Come down, the food is finally ready!" Keith called up, standing at the base of the tree with Mateo and Carolina clinging onto his thighs. 

Pidge peered down, a laugh escaping her lips as she spotted the two young children.

"Wow Keith! I never knew you were such a ladies man!"

"I ain't no lady!" Mateo replied sassily, "That's Carolina! She's the one who cries when Baymax dies in Big Hero 6!"

Keith shook his head. "In that case, call me a lady. Mateo, being a lady isn't a bad thing. It makes you awesome because you can kick butt with five inch heels, which a guy can't do because he'd fall. Girls are awesome," he said, patting Carolina's head gently and flashing her a smile.

Pidge's heard melted watching Carolina gaze up at Keith with an adoring smile, her lips curling into a smile.

"Pidge, come down!" Keith said, "We have to find the seats closest to the grill!"

Pidge chuckled, turning to Lotor and sending him a small smile. "You don't have to leave the treehouse if you don't want to, you know. You can stay up here if it's too awkward."

"I'll join you all in a few minutes. I just need a moment to think."

Pidge shrugged. "Suit yourself." She turned to climb down the stairs, landing on the ground with a small thud.

Keith smiled at her, offering her his arm. "Dinner? I made it myself."

Pidge snorted. "You flipped one steak and then started playing with the kids," she said, walking towards the table with her arm hooked around Keith's. She spotted Acxa standing in the far corner with Krolia, who looked away from Keith once she made eye contact with him.

"Ouch," she said, "are you and Krolia still not talking?"

Keith shrugged. "I had time to think it over, but I want to see if she actually means her words."

"How are you going to do that?" Pidge questioned, taking a seat at the table next to Keith.

"By seeing if she cares enough to show up at my graduation," Keith simply replied. "I'm not mad at her anymore, though. I'm just being classical me."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "How lovely."

Coran popped up between them, shoving a plate in front of there noses. "It's Altean Steak!" He said proudly.

Pidge gagged and Keith's face visibly paled as they stared at the charred and somewhat stinky steak on the plate, the two rapidly shaking their heads.

"No!"

Lotor chuckled from his position in the treehouse as he watched Keith and Pidge try to shoo Coran away. That steak did _not_ look appetizing. He sighed, watching the sun begin to set in the horizon. Another day was coming to an end, only for another one to begin right after it.

Time. Time was something that was limited. He knew that a war would soon brew between the Galra and Alteans that would escalate to violence, but that wasn't now. It would take years for that pot to start boiling over, so he didn't have to worry about anything yet. 

He watched Acxa and Ezor sneakily link their hands together under the table, small blushes taking over their faces. He watched Zethrid and Narti make silly expressions to entertain the children. He watched everyone have so much fun, and he suddenly turned away from the scene in front of him.

This was all going to be a memory soon. He wasn't ever going to make it to graduation, and he knew. He had enough credits to graduate early, and he didn't have the heart to tell anyone other than Acxa that he was leaving tonight. It was all set; he would leave on the first plane out for New York. Only Acxa knew that he was leaving, and she had promised to meet him there once she graduated, even though she had just found her mother. He had a penthouse in New York, so he'd be fine, although he had a funny feeling that it wasn't only going to be Acxa joining him in New York.

What Pidge had said was true, and the sudden harsh reality that he was leaving his home brutally hit him in the face. He was leaving the only home he'd known for a foreign state, but he didn't regret. He had to do it. It was the only way to survive.

It didn't matter that he was leaving home. It didn't matter that he was leaving people who were starting trust him after hating him for most of their time together. None of that mattered...but at the same time, it did.

Laughter erupted from the people at the table, and Lotor only smiled sadly.

Oh, how he hated emotions that made him feel like crying. 

He looked up at the horizon, his gaze hardening. There was no going back. Tonight, he was leaving his old life behind.

Even if the meant leaving everything and everyone he knew behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaahhh I’m honestly so sad that the story is almost over. I’m proud too, but a little sad. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Only one more to go for this story!


	39. Just a Couple of Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Graduation Day has finally arrived, and Lance and Pidge have some interesting speeches to give during the ceremony. Tearful goodbyes are shed, and Keith finally confronts Krolia. Meanwhile, the group is left with a shocking revelation between Pidge and Keith, resulting in a lot of teasing and congratulations.

Pidge paced around the waiting area outside the graduation venue, her graduation speech clenched tightly in her hands. She was growing more nervous by the second, rereading her speech over and over, even though she had been given an all clear by the school for it. She felt as if all the contents in her stomach were soon going to be on the ground in front of the Altea University Auditorium, her egg sandwich available for the whole world to see.

She groaned, not paying attention to her friends. She was never usually this concerned over giving a speech, but the thought of giving the final speech to the graduating class that had gone through some traumatic shit was a little nerve wracking. She ignored Lance's laugh, shooting him a quick glare as she furiously buried her face in her paper to avoid looking at anyone around her.

"Pidge?"

She scowled before glancing up, staring at Keith's purple eyes.

"Can I help you?" She asked in a snarky tone, eyeing Keith critically.

"Yeah," he said, crossing his arms, "you can."

"What do you want?" She asked exasperatedly, emitting a small resigned sigh.

"Apart from a kiss?" Keith murmured, arching a brow.

"Jackass!" She hissed, flushing a light shade of pink. "You can't just say things like that! They're going to hear—"

"Yeah, no," Keith said bluntly, shaking his head. "They're talking about a D&D campaign that they want to do after graduation or something, but I honestly have no idea why they want to do it now."

"You'll be the princess they need to save," Pidge teased, her lips curling into a small smile.

Keith shrugged. "Will you be the one who saves me?"

"Well—"

"Pidge!" Lance screeched, causing the short girl and her boyfriend to cover their ears, "You've gotta get over here! We're planning an afterparty!"

Pidge rolled her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest. "I have to go over my speech, Lance. Go ahead and do it without me."

Lance rolled his eyes, placing a hand on his hip. "Seriously? You've been reading that speech for like, an hour. Don't you think that you've done enough reading for today? The paper is getting all crinkly because of your sweaty hands," he said in disgust, wrinkling his nose.

Hunk nodded. "I know it's kinda nerve wracking to give a speech to the entire graduating class and their parents...and grandparents...and uncles and aunts..."

"Yeah thanks, that makes me feel sooo much better," Pidge replied sarcastically, facepalming when Keith emitted a small chuckle from beside her.

"Oh come on," Keith laughed, poking his shoulder into her arm, "he's just trying to show some sympathy, Pidge."

"More like empathy," Hunk interjected, raising a finger. "When I had to give a speech at Lance's fifteenth birthday, I think my soul left my body and ascended into the astral plane. I was so scared of saying something wrong in front of all the moms."

Lance grinned. "That was two years ago, Hunk. We were just a couple of kids!"

"And now we're graduating," Acxa murmured as she appeared behind Keith, crossing her arms. "I can't believe we made it."

"I can't believe we survived prom," Lance retorted, shaking his head. "Well, me, at least. I really thought I was going to die after Pidge brought pineapple pizza as a joke to my hospital room."

"Pizza isn't allowed—"

"Hush," Lance said, dismissing Acxa. "My point is that pineapple pizza was going to kill me, and I was deliberately poisoned. You're lucky I didn't file a lawsuit," Lance said, sticking a finger in Pidge's face.

"Easy there, princess," Pidge replied, rolling her eyes. "It was a simple joke, and I didn't expect you to actually almost have a full on heart attack. Also, don't mention lawsuits. I can only think of what Allura said yesterday," Pidge said, shaking her head. "I can't believe that the Galra are really trying to sue Alfor for something they caused. It's so stupid."

"Hey, at least we haven't been dragged in," Keith said comfortingly, squeezing her shoulder with his hand. "Also, I don't know about you, but I'd rather talk about graduation than lawsuits."

Pidge groaned. "My speech," she moaned, slapping her forehead with her palm.

"You've read over that thing so many times that I'm sure you've memorized everything," Hunk said, smiling gently. "Worst case scenario, you have to bullshit some lines, but other than that, I think you'll be golden."

"You mean she'll be Gucci, right?" Lance teased, earning groans from his friends around him.

Pidge rolled her eyes, turning around to face Acxa, arching a brow.

"Where's Lotor? Graduation starts in less than fifteen minutes."

Acxa's eyes slightly widened before she cleared her throat, relaxing her features and eyeing Pidge neutrally. "I don't know. He's been radio silent ever since Monday."

Pidge's face fell. "Oh."

Acxa nodded. "He'll be fine. If you don't see him today then you'll see him another time. Believe me, you won't go more than five years without seeing him."

Pidge hummed suspiciously. "Why are you saying that like he's gone for good?" She narrowed her eyes. "Lotor is here, right? Like he said he would?"

Ezor scoffed as she walked up behind Acxa. "Nope. He left five days ago, the same night Lance was released from the hospital. He left and only told Acxa, not even bothering to tell us where he was going to be."

Pidge stared at them blankly. "He _left_?"

Acxa sighed. "Yes, he left. However, I can't say where. He needs time alone, and time to think over what he's going to do with his life."

"He can't just leave like that!" Pidge said, scrunching her face up angrily. "He can't leave me without saying anything! He promised he was going to be here today!"

"What did you expect?" Ezor asked, crossing her arms, "Lotor never keeps his promises. It's something you learned the hard way, and no matter how much he says he won't break them, he always does. It's stupid, but that's how he is."

"If you ask me, it was better that way," Zethrid said, shrugging. "If he had stayed and told you, you still wouldn't have agreed. He's making peace with himself, even if you don't understand it. I don't like what he did either, but we can't make him do what he wants to do. It was his choice."

Pidge frowned. "He can't even get a decent job now that Zarkon probably removed him from his inheritance and company line. What the hell is he going go do living alone in some place with no one to help him? We could've done something here."

"It's Lotor," Narti said firmly. "He'll be fine."

"Alright graduates!" Coran spoke up from in front of the crowd of seniors with a megaphone, "We need you to get in a straight line—no jokes, Lance!"

"Damn it," Lance muttered, the students surrounding him laughing at his loss.

"But Coran, I can't be straight! I'm as straight as a ninety degree angle!" Keith called out mockingly, cupping his hands around his mouth. Lance started cackling from behind him, the students falling into a full fit of laughter as Coran's left eye twitched in annoyance.

Pidge sighed, rolling her eyes. "Seriously?" She asked in annoyance, looking up at Keith. "Let Coran finish his words, fucktard."

"I'm not sorry."

"Anyways!" Coran continued, shaking his head and allowing a small smile to appear on his features, "First of all, congratulations for getting through your four years of hell—I mean, high school— successfully. Secondly, you've practiced for this moment for several weeks now, and it's finally time to see it pay off. You're graduating, so don't walk up there and do something stupid like dab in front of everyone—once again, I'm looking at you, Lance," Coran said, eyeing Lance.

"Today is your official last day of calling Altea High your home. Many of you will be graduating into elite colleges, and others aren't, but either way, everyone in the Altea High staff is proud of you for being excellent students at the school and for giving it your all. There have been many instances where high school seemed impossible, and I know from first hand experience because I work here as a teacher too, but you all made it here today, so it's time to shine and smile. Today is all about you, so enjoy it and don't do something stupid up there, please."

He lowered the megaphone and heard Allura sniffle from behind him, wiping her eyes and nose with her hand.

"Stupid pregnancy hormones," she cursed, causing the seniors to laugh as she waved them off and sent them a heartwarming smile.

"You heard the man!" Shiro's voice boomed, everyone immediately turning their attention towards him. "In a straight line, no jokes. You know the drill. Girls separated into one section, boys in the other. Don't worry, you'll be able to aggressively make out after the ceremony is over and our valedictorian has given her speech."

"What team?" Lance screeched as he got out of the line.

"Wildcats!" The rest of the seniors responded, Coran shaking his head from his spot next to Allura. They only continued laughing in response as they finally got into position, excited murmurs rippling through the senior student body.

Pidge felt her stomach lurch as she was pulled out of the line by Allura, following the woman as she was led away from the other seniors. She could feel everyone staring at the back of her neck as she and Lance were led in the direction of Coran, who was going to usher them inside to sit next to all the staff on the stage.

Lance groaned. "Man, I think I understand why you were feeling all jittery about giving your speech. I do _not_ want to be the first one to talk."

"Now you realize," Pidge murmured. "I still can't believe that you got salutatorian out of everyone in the school. I've seen your grades!"

"Thanks for your faith in me," Lance said sarcastically. "It's called, I need to impress my family by becoming the first to actually talk at graduation. I was motivated, unlike you."

"Either way, we're both dumbasses that managed to get high enough rankings to be speakers."

"Is that your way of giving up an argument with me?" Lance asked cockily, swiftly dodging a punch thrown his way by the short girl. "I'll take that as a yes."

Allura huffed. "Do you two know how to act properly? You both got the highest honor, now shut up before I push you down the stairs and say that it was self defense," she said grouchily before clearing her throat, plastering a smile on her face before walking up onto the stage.

Pidge and Lance exchanged a look before following her up the stairs, emerging from behind the stage and freezing in their tracks.

They had practiced this before, but the fact that today was actually the real day where they couldn't fuck up felt almost surreal. There were various parents already filling up the blue velvet seats in the top section of the auditorium in, laughter filling the air. Many were seated while others were rushing to get in. Pidge quickly spotted both her and Keith's parents, eyes widening when she spotted Matt waving wildly at her.

"Pidge!" He screeched over the noise of the boisterous people, grinning wildly as he waved excitedly. Various heads turned around to shush him, Matt ignoring them and sending Pidge a thumbs up.

Pidge groaned and turned her head away from him in embarrassment, shielding her face behind her hand.

"Did Keith invite Krolia?" Lance asked Pidge as they were led to their seats, eyeing the crowd curiously.

"No...?" Pidge said in confusion, taking her hand off her face and looking in the direction where Lance was looking. She squinted her eyes, looking around the room curiously before gasping, finally spotting Krolia. "Oh my fucking god, she _is_ here."

Krolia was sitting next to Colleen, curiously scanning the floor below with her eyes. She looked like she wasn't trying to be so obvious, but it was clear as day that she was looking down for Keith. Her eyes were slightly squinted, and a small frown was etched onto her features.

"You spotted your family but didn't spot Krolia? Damn, how do you expect to get your mother in law's approval to marry her son when you completely ignore her existence?" Lance teased, a shit eating grin on his face.

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Shut up. She is not my mother in law, Lance. Keith doesn't even—"

"Listen sister, if you say that Keith doesn't like you one more time I'm going to explode right here," Lance said, narrowing his eyes. "You and me both know—"

"That your English sucks?" Pidge replied, arching a brow, "because it does. How did you pass English with that grammar?"

"No!" Lance said impatiently, stomping his foot on the ground. "Stop bullying me!"

"Okay okay I'm sorry," Pidge replied, shaking her head. "Seriously, I know. I know Keith probably somewhat likes me but I'm not going to say anything until he stops chickening out and declares his undying love for me in front of everyone. That's when you know he's serious."

Lance snorted. "I didn't know you were a sap."

"It's funny that you think I'm serious. If Keith is going to declare his love for me, then I'll just be glad he finally told me instead of skating around the edges like he always does." Pidge sat back in her chair, motioning for Lance to do the same as the music started up and the parents started to quiet down.

The graduation had begun.

Pidge and Lance both eagerly watched on as their classmates made their way into the auditorium, girls and boys walking side by side together.

Pidge snorted as she spotted Keith walk in, her lips curling into a small smile. He looked like a lost, startled puppy. His gaze was wandering up into the crowd of parents, desperately looking for anyone he knew.

Once he spotted Aiko, he emitted a small sigh of relief. He quickly glanced to the side and spotted Colleen, taking a double take when he saw who was next to her.

Krolia. She _did_ show up.

He let out a small squeak before walking into his row, turning away from the audience and staring straight ahead. Taking a deep breath, he turned his attention up to the stage.

Big mistake.

He immediately locked eyes with Pidge, amber meeting purple orbs. He blinked, his lips curling into a smile as he saw her smile childishly at him. He rolled his eyes, mouthing, 'I hate you' while smiling at her fondly. In response, she arched a brow, smirking.

'I love you,' she mouthed back, grinning satisfactorily as she watched his face turn red. She smirked, turning her gaze away from him and looking back at Lance in annoyance.

"What are you looking at?"

Lance shrugged innocently. "I want to say you but I'm looking at you mouth something at someone in the crowd. Care to share who?"

"Fuck off," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I am onto you," he whispered as Coran motioned for him to follow him, getting up from his seat. 

Pidge rolled her eyes, watching him curiously as he and Coran both made their way to the front stand where the microphone was. Once Allura finished reciting the national anthem and everyone was seated, Coran tapped on the microphone three times.

"Hello? Is this thing on?" His expression brightened as he received confirmation that it was on. "Oh good. Hello everyone!" He said, waving at the parents in the top row.

He cleared his throat. "I am the principal of Altea High. My name is Coran, and I'd like to welcome you all to this year's graduation! Now, before our salutatorian speaks, I would like to say one thing." He smiled. "It has been quite the ride with these students for the past four years, and I would just like to say that I'm going to miss you all very dearly and I hope life treats you fairly. Now," he said, motioning for Lance to step up, "I'll leave our salutatorian, the one and only Lance McClain, with the spotlight."

Pidge watched with glee as Lance visibly paled and gulped. He looked so scared, and she was living for his fright, even if she would be experiencing the same emotions in less than two hours.

Lance nodded as Coran allowed him to step up onto the stand, clearing his throat as he leaned into the microphone. He stood there awkwardly before looking at Pidge, panic written all across his features. For a confident guy, he was looking really scared.

Pidge emitted a small sigh and smiled at him, sending him two large thumbs up. Relief immediately flooded Lance's insides as he slightly nodded, a smile taking over his frown as he turned to the audience with newfound confidence.

"Thank you, Coran. Good morning everyone! First, I'd like to thank our student body, parents, and school staff for joining us today on our last day together as the graduating class of 2018. While it is sad to see all of us go our separate ways, I am thankful and happy to say that I have been a part of this family for four years."

"Today, I stand here with the purpose of telling you about one thing, which is change. In life, there are a lot of changes that can throw you off balance. It can be as simple as a bad test grade, or as difficult as losing a loved one and losing a friend."

Pidge's head snapped up and went wide eyed, looking in the crowd for Keith. She found his eyes trained on Lance, the same wide eyed expression on both his and Hunk's faces.

"I've never been good at giving advice, so I'm not going to stand up here and spit out cliche advice on how to handle change, so I'll talk about some people in my life that have changed me and greatly influenced where I am now and how thankful I am for them."

"When I was seven, we moved from Cuba to Altea. This is one of the most significant changes in my life because I was packing up my bags and traveling to a foreign country that I had no idea existed before we moved. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried for the first month we were here, but hey, can you blame me? It was a foreign country far from the beach and typical warm weather. We got here in the winter, and I hated it. I just wanted to go home."

He chuckled. "I realized how wrong I was about this place when I met a boy a few days into the third grade. Hunk, I am so thankful to have met you when I did. You helped me understand those words I couldn't when I got here, and you were also the one person I could cry with at two in the morning when the homesickness got so bad that I couldn't sleep. I'm so thankful that you have been my rock for what seems like forever, and that you never gave up on me, even when I wasn't really at my hundred percent."

"The second change came when we went to middle school. Hunk and I were in the same middle school, and it felt like heaven. Then we met Keith and Katie," he said, smiling fondly. "That's when things started to really change."

"When we met Katie and Keith, the two looked like they couldn't stand each other and couldn't bear to be apart from one another. They were each other's guardian and best friend, and when Hunk tried to talk to them, they were reluctant to even look at us, especially Keith. I didn't like them at first when they finally started accepting our friendship, because I felt like my rock was being taken away. I felt like there was another huge change coming, and I didn't want it to happen. I distanced myself, but that wasn't the right thing to do. Eventually, I realized that they weren't leaving, so I tolerated them until I genuinely liked hanging out with them."

"Katie, I'm so thankful that you came into my life when you did. You were the one with blunt and sometimes harsh opinions, and even though you haven't learned how to be less sarcastic, you're one of my best friends. You know how to cheer me up and you knew how to help me when I felt like giving up my entire education when times at home weren't so good. Without you, I probably wouldn't be up here today. You believed in me education wise, even if you thought I wouldn't get a girlfriend until I was eighty."

Laughter rippled through the graduates and parents, everyone training their eyes on Lance and listening closely.

"As for Keith, well, we've apparently had bonding moments but I can't seem to recall those," Lance joked, flashing Keith a smile. "I'm joking, of corse I remember those. Keith, I'm thankful for you being by my side when I want to do crazy things and supporting me even when you haven't been at your best. You never fail to support me, and I'm so thankful that even though all the arguing we do, you're always willing to listen to what I have to say when I ask you to. Thanks man, you're great even though your hair isn't."

Pidge snorted, watching Keith's smile turn into a scowl from his seat.

"I know life hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows for our friend group, but Katie, Keith, and Hunk have always been by my side and won't leave it for the foreseeable future, apparently. I also want to thank Shiro, who changed my life after he saved me from drowning once and taught me how to drive in his Shiro-way. He's my hero, and he frankly amazing. He's been like a second father to me sometimes, and a good friend."

"To Allura, Thank you for listening to my fashion rants when I couldn't sleep because of anxiety for my exams at three in the morning even if you had to go to work the next morning. You put me in my place and along with my mom, taught me how to treat a girl right and how to excel in school."

"Thank you to Plaxum, Shay, and Florona, the three ladies who have been my gossip pals for four years straight. Hell wouldn't have been possible to escape without you, and I'm glad we're staying in touch after today, because you've all helped me so much when life wasn't treating me right."

"To Coran, thank you for being like another uncle to me and for accepting me for who I was when I came out during sophomore year. A huge thank you for making health class exciting and weird at the same time during first period, and for giving me good advice on how to stay on top of my grades. Additionally, a huge thanks to the staff at Altea High who made learning somewhat fun and helped me be the best I can be."

"Last but not least, a huge thank you to my parents and family members for supporting me anyway you could when I needed it. There were times when I wanted to give up, but you all encouraged me to do my best and it's thanks to your endless support that I can stand up here today and say how thankful I am that you have all changed my life."

"Life is never easy, and there's always going to be people that change your life. We all have had those people who have changed us, and I think it's safe to say that we wouldn't be where we are without endless support. High school isn't easy, and with changes, it's even harder. However, I believe that once we're out of here, we'll be able to change those around us. In life, there are many things that will change, but it's up to us to adapt, conquer, and show everyone that we can also change the world, even if it is a little."

"Thank you."

He turned around to look for Coran, the audience applauding for him. He heard Keith yell a loud 'fuck you' and several others shush him, his family and friends cheering him on from the top of the auditorium.

"Thank you, Lance," Coran said as he squeezed the boy in a bone crushing hug, letting him take his seat next to Pidge.

"I can't believe you included me," she teased, a smile on her face. "Awww."

"I had to," Lance replied. "My mom and Keith would've killed me if I didn't include you even though you have done nothing to earn my thanks."

"Such lies," Pidge said, shaking her head. "And here I was planning a trip to Six Flags for your birthday. Oh well."

"No no, I meant everything I said in my speech, but you haven't done anything to deserve my love and affection."

"That's why I'm bribing you now. Love me, I need attention," she joked, slightly poking him in the elbow. "In all seriousness, thank you for including me. You rock, dude."

"Yeah, well as long as you put me in yours we'll call it even."

Pidge chuckled. "Deal."

The ceremony continued as planned, and almost as quickly as it had arrived, the hour flew by. Graduates passed up to receive their diplomas and while most walked up normally, many, including Lance, dabbed as they shook hands with Alfor, who was presenting the diplomas. Keith almost tripped as he passed by Pidge, the girl biting her bottom lip to avoid laughing as he waved his hands wildly in the air to straighten himself up, simultaneously defying the laws of physics.

When Hunk was called up, he almost fell off the stage after waving at everyone in the audience. He sheepishly smiled when Shiro pulled him back, Lance sending him a thumbs up. All in all, the diplomas were passed to the students quickly and within an hour and a half, the student were settled down. Awards were also handed out, and Lance cheered when he received an award for being the best player on the soccer team.

When everything was done being handed out to the students, Pidge suddenly felt her stomach start to lurch.

"I know everyone is a little antsy, but don't worry, we have one more event to finish, and then you'll all officially be graduates. I would like you all to welcome a young lady who has worked herself to death perfecting her speech up until the last moment, and who has earned her right to speak as our valedictorian today. Please welcome, Katie Holt!"

The applause was almost deafening to Pidge as she slowly stood up, biting her bottom lip to avoid puking on stage.

Lance tapped on her arm. "Pidge? You okay?"

She nodded and took a deep breath. "No."

"You'll do great," Lance encouraged, smiling at her. "Go get em, tiger."

Pidge nodded and made her way towards the stand, sending Coran a nervous smile as she brought out her speech, laying it flat in front of her. She quickly scanned the room, her parents sending her warm smiles and Matt clapping wildly. She looked down at Keith, who was smiling proudly. They locked eyes and he sent her a thumbs up.

Pidge took a deep breath for what seemed like the umpteenth time and cleared her throat.

"Thank you, Coran." She lifted her head up proudly, a smiled etched on her features. "Good morning, parents and graduating class of 2018. Today, I'd like to take a moment to thank the Altea High staff and faculty that took good care of us during our four years of school here. You have helped us all become better people, especially me, and I can't thank you enough for being by our side even through crazy freshman field days and breakdowns in the middle of class."

"I won't bore you all with a half hour speech, so don't worry. You won't have to sit much longer." She chuckled lightly. "Today, I would like to talk about something that we are all going to and have faced before. As a class, there have been many obstacles. As I said before, we went through a lot of things together as a whole. Whether it be emotional or physical, there have been many challenges that our graduating class has faced. In the beginning of freshman year, everyone treated each other distantly. Almost no one knew anyone, and it was just a wild time. After a while, after that first year, we were all family. Of course there have been challenges between classmates, and that's something that we managed to overcome."

"There have been times where we have seen struggles that are so prominent that it hurts. As a family, it hurts to see when there is a break in that family. It was like that one time where many of the jocks wouldn't talk to the cheerleaders, simply because the captains were arguing. When people argue, it hurts. It hurts more when you're in a group of people that have grown so close together that it feels like a second home when you're with them. I know this from first hand experience, because I spent a majority of my time arguing with someone who I hold dearly to my heart, and it's something that hurt me, both physically and mentally."

"As a class, these haven't been the only obstacles. We've faced finals and field days together, and sometimes even birthday parties together. I remember when we once held a car wash and bake sale in order to raise money to celebrate Coran's twenty-fifth year as our principal. That day, a lot of things went wrong, but in the end, instead of giving up after we lost most of our supplies, we managed to still throw him a surprise party. Of course there are bigger obstacles than that. As a class, we went through the struggle of mourning our classmate, Angela Kerovsky, who tragically died in a car accident. It took a while, but we managed to overcome the mourning period and instead spread awareness of how drunk drivers can kill."

"There was also another obstacle recently, where our salutatorian Lance McClain was injured during an accident that tragically ended our night of partying at prom. We were all saddened, but we didn't let our own family member suffer alone. We helped him recuperate and sent him lots of love and affection, and now he's up here being his cocky and lovable self. You see, we've already faced so many obstacles as a class that one could say we're prepared for the future. Are we though? The answer is no, we're not. There are going to be larger obstacles to overcome in college."

"By the way, I don't mean to sound discouraging," Pidge said, slightly laughing. "No, I'm not trying to do anything like that. Of course you're all going to succeed in life after today, but not without some struggles. Life is never easy, and you're going to have to fight to make the happily ever after ending that you want. Life is cruel, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. I mean, look at Oprah! She faced so many challenges and was suffering before she finally broke through with her tv show. It isn't impossible to overcome challenges. Obstacles are always going to show themselves, but I'm confident when I say that I believe in the graduating class of 2018's skills to overcome these adversities."

"You might feel like you can't overcome the challenges and obstacles that life throws you, but it wouldn't be life without any of those things. If life throws something at you, you take it and fight tooth and nail to overcome. You're basically a superhero, give or take a few missing abs. Giving up is easy for anyone to do, but taking a challenge head one shows that you are mature and can handle life. High school has prepared you for the challenges of real life, and it is with a happy heart that I say that I am proud to have been a part of this four year journey with all of you. We don't know where tomorrow takes us—well, home to sleep probably— but I am sure that we're all going to leave here today proud of what we have done these four years and confident that we can overcome any challenges thrown our way."

"I'll end this with a quote that's been running through my mind for a while. "Destiny is a gift. Never forget that fear is but a precursor to valor, that to strive and triumph in the face of fear is what it means to be a hero. Don't think. Become." She smiled the audience.

"Thank you all."

The applause for Pidge's speech was deafening, and she winced as she heard both Keith and Matt cheering loudly for her. She looked up and spotted her parents crying, along with Aiko and the others family friends present. She spotted Krolia clapping for her, and saw a ghost of a smile on her face.

Pidge let out a breath and turned around to face Coran, the man smiling warmly at her.

"Good job," he murmured as he hugged her. Once he released her, Pidge took her seat back down next to Lance, the Cuban boy beaming.

"You did amazing!"

"I know I did," PIdge replied back smoothly, smirking. "I wrote the speech, so it was bound to be good."

"Okayyyy," Lance drawled out, "if you say so."

The two laughed before sitting back in their chairs, waiting for Coran to end the ceremony. The students settled down once again and looked up to Coran to hear him end the ceremony, anxious to leave.

"Thank you, Katie Holt, for that wonderful speech. Class of 2018, it has been my pleasure being your principal for the past four years, and I can't wait see how you do in your future. I will miss you all dearly, and I hope that you are all successful in the future and able to overcome any obstacles that life throws at you. With that being said, congratulations class of 2018!"

The students cheered loudly and threw up their caps into the air, the parents clapping and cheering on their children from the sidelines. The graduates pumped their firsts up in the air wildly, and laughed like there was no tomorrow.

Pidge and Lance exchanged a look before throwing up their caps into the air, laughing together as they fell back into their palms. They were finally done with senior year, and they were finally going to have some peace.

High school was finally over, and for many, the end of a senior year nightmare. Life was truly finally good.

* * *

"Keith!" Aiko squealed as she found her son, squeezing him a bone crushing hug. "My son! You're all grown up!"

"Mom," Keith childishly complained, a smile on his face, "I'm eighteen; I've been grown up since October."

"Now it's official," his dad said, patting his shoulder proudly. "I'm proud of you, son."

"Thanks, dad."

"Keith!"

Keith turned around and was immediately embraced by Pidge, who was laughing. He chuckled, hugging her back tightly as everyone else started gathering together beside them.

"Hey."

Pidge let go of him, a huge smile on her face. "Did you hear my speech?"

"Hm, can't say I did. I think you imagined giving it," he teased.

"Shut up," Pidge laughed, shaking her head. "I felt like I was going to fucking puke all over the stage and Lance. I don't think I would've been able to do it without all of you encouraging me from afar."

"Well, that's what I'm here for, right?" Keith said, smiling. "I'm here to be supportive."

Pidge nodded. "I know." She looked around, frowning when she didn't spot Lotor. "Huh," she mused, "he's actually gone."

Keith frowned. "Lotor is gone for now, but he'll be back in the future. Don't worry about him, he'll be fine. He's Lotor, after all. He lived with Zarkon for seventeen years, and that alone makes him tough enough for the real world."

"I guess. It still sucks ass that he didn't even say goodbye though," Pidge lamented, frowning. "I wouldn't have said anything."

"Don't lie, you know you would've," Keith said in amusement. "Don't worry about it too much. We'll talk more about Lotor later, but for now, I think it's time for us to join the main conversation before everyone thinks that we're talking about something else,"he said suggestively.

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Please. No one would believe that because you're a chicken that won't declare our relationship status in front of everyone. Until you finally decide to give up your charade that we aren't something, I'm not going to say anything to you." She turned and hugged her mom from the side, leaving Keith to look after her curiously.

He hummed. "So you want me to declare my love for you publicly, huh?" He chuckled lowly. "Just wait and see, Pidge. Just wait and see."

"Pidge, that speech was amazing!" Hunk gushed, smiling warmly at the girl. "How long did it take you to write that?"

"A night," Pidge confessed, scratching her head. "It took me a week to come up with the theme and a day to actually write it." She shuddered. "I didn't know I could write a six page speech in two hours."

Lance snorted. "You and me both, Pidge. Mine took two days to write because I kept getting distracted at the hospital. The fact that Shrek was playing every day at the same time on the same channel was not something that I expected."

"Furry," Pidge said, snickering. "Seriously, yours was great. Mine was better, but yours was great."

"Gee, thanks," Lance replied sarcastically. He was taken by surprise as Plaxum wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Plax!"

Matt gagged. "Gross."

"You don't complain about it when I do that to you," Marisol responded, arching a brow and holding Mateo on her hip. "Maybe I should stop doing it."

"You'd really punish me like that? That's just cruel," Matt said, shaking his head. "You are a cruel, cruel woman."

Marisol chuckled. " _Está bien,_ I won't punish you like that. Better?"

"A lot," Matt confirmed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

Hunk's mother sighed. "Oh, you're all so grown up. I feel like it was just yesterday when you were all playing spin the bottle at sleepovers and daring each other to steal cheese form the fridge at three in the morning."

"Mom, that was Keith's idea," Hunk said, clinging onto his mom. "And no, we never played at three. It was more like four. I couldn't tell if it was getting late or if it was early because the sun would start to rise when we passed out."

"Good times," Keith reminisced.

"Speaking of good times," Sam said, pulling out his phone, "I happen to have a picture of all of you together for your eighth grade graduation four years ago. Look!"

He held out his phone for everyone to see, Matt immediately bursting out laughing, Shiro and Allura trying to keep their laughter in as the four graduates looked at their past selves while cringing.

"Hey look, Keith still had his shitty hair back then!"

"Enough about my hair!" Keith whined.

Pidge snorted. "Lance, you have braces on. You should not be talking, because you literally look like you have blue crystals embedded into your teeth."

"Mess with the prince, get punished by the princess," Allura murmured from her position next to Shiro, Matt and Shiro both nodding and agreeing with her.

"Pidge looks like such a baby! She had long hair!" Hunk remarked, a huge smile on his face. "And is that Keith wearing his jacket over his dress shirt?"

"I have style," Keith said proudly.

"You have blindness, that's what you have," Lance snootily replied. He turned back to the picture, smiling. "Pidge looks so cute. She's the only one besides me that looks cute as f—"

"Lance!" His mother reprimanded, raising a finger. "I am proud of you, but I will not tolerate your bad language here!"

" _Lo siento, mama_ ," Lance said sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

Pidge chuckled. "Lance, I'm the cutest one in the picture. I'm the only one who looks decent and doesn't look like I'm living out of some futuristic clothing."

"See with Keith's outfit you can see that we're all amateurs. Keith's living in 2040 while we're still living in 2018," Lance remarked, cracking up. "His style is so exotic that it could be passed for the future!"

Pidge patted her boyfriend sympathetically while he scowled, his brows twitching in annoyance as everyone began to laugh.

Sam chuckled. "Alright, you've poked enough fun at Keith for today. The reason I brought out this picture was to show you guys how much you've changed from there to here. How about you take a picture in the exact same poses so we can hang them up at home later? You know, just for old time's sake."

Keith's eyes immediately widened and a smirk overtook his face. "Oh, I wouldn't have a problem with that. Pidge, you in?"

Pidge eyed him suspiciously. "Sure..."

Lance grinned. "Well I'm definitely in, and I know Hunk is too. Can we bring in some other friends too, like Plax, Shay and Flor?"

"Of course," Sam said.

They walked towards the large fountain in front of the building in which the auditorium resided in, waiting for people to clear out of the way so they could take a picture.

Pidge pulled Keith down by the collar, narrowing her eyes.

"What the fuck are you planning? You used that voice, and we both know that you don't use it unless you're planning something," she whispered harshly into his ear.

Keith chuckled, straightening up. "Relax, im not planning anything major. It's something simple."

"If you give me bunny ears again—"

"Oh trust me, it's wayyy better than bunny ears." He stopped talking to her, looking around for Krolia and Acxa. "On the undrelated note, have you uh, seen Acxa and Krolia by the way? I kinda have to talk to them."

Pidge shook her head. "I only saw Krolia and Acxa towards the beginning of the ceremony, but it's like they vanished. Do you think she's planning on joining Lotor wherever he is?"

"Why would she? She has a life here."

"I know, but maybe she feels indebted to Lotor in some way, I don't know," Pidge said, scratching her head. "I don't think she's going to stick around for much longer, though. Last I heard, her family's moving over the summer."

Keith frowned. "She didn't tell me anything."

"She probably forgot to mention it with all the crazy prom and graduation mess going on," Pidge said, reassuring Keith. "She'll tell you eventually."

"Come on kiddos!" Sam said, motioning for Pidge and Keith to stand in the front of the group.

The two teens made their way to the front, Pidge muttering something about how she was always in the front because she was short. Keith only chuckled, slightly amused.

He was only slightly amused because the other seventy five percent of his body was roaring with nervous energy. Today, he had decided, was going to be the day everyone found out. She had challenged him to declare his undying love for her in front of everyone, and what better way to do that other than by giving her a kiss? It was foolproof. Today, he was giving everyone what they —and what he— wanted from the beginning of the revelation of his crush on his neighbor.

Sam lifted his phone camera up alongside the other parents, the group laughing as they tried to assemble themselves correctly. Once they were settled, Sam lifted his hand.

"Three!"

_Don't think._

"Two!"

_Just do it._

"One!"

_Do it!_

"Say cheese!"

"Pidge, think fast!"

Pidge didn't have enough time to react as Keith spun her around, their lips colliding in an awkward kiss as the camera went off. It took her a couple of milliseconds to register that she was kissing Keith and judging from the gasps behind her, no, it wasn't a dream.

She tilted her head more to the side to allow the kiss to be less awkward, wrapping her arms around his neck and closing her eyes softly. She could feel Keith snap his eyes open once he heard someone drop what sounded like a camera, and so did she, the two breaking apart and looking at one another with wide eyes and slightly parted lips.

Pidge wanted to say a million things, but the first thing that came out of her mouth was;

"Is that how you give someone a kiss?!"

Keith's eyes widened even more. "I've never kissed a person before! How am I supposed to know how to kiss a girl? You're the first!"

"Oh my fucking god, I knew it!" Lance screeched, interrupting the couple's banter. "Bless the big man in the sky for making this the day my ship becomes officially canon!"

"Yes!" Hunk cheered, wrapping his arms around the two and hugging them, "I knew you'd come around to your senses!"

"I finally have an official son in law!" Colleen wailed, clinging onto her husband's tie. "Sam, our prayers have been answered! They've finally done something after ten years!"

"I don't believe it," Sam whispered. "My Katie and Keith? I never thought I'd see the day—"

"Haha!" Shiro cheered, grinning at Allura. "Love, I think you owe me twenty dollars now because I told you that something like this would I happen! I knew it!"

"I don't believe it!" Allura said, tears welling in her eyes, "They finally did something!"

"Aw hell yeah!" Matt cheered, patting Keith on the back. "You finally stopped being a chicken, congrats! Treat her wrong and I'll kill you, but wow! Good job!"

Aiko smiled, dabbing her eyes with a small tissue. "I can't believe my two sons have found their true love. It truly is a day of great change."

Keith and Pidge both exchanged confused looks, lopsided smiles on their faces.

"Why do I feel like we just got engaged?"

"Probably because now my mom is definitely going to start making wedding invitations," Pidge replied, shrugging and intertwining her and Keith's finger's together. "Whatever. You finally did something, and I can now confirm that I'm a happy girlfriend. Oh, and next time, don't smash your nose into mine when we kiss. You're great with sweet talk, but suck at kisses."

"Think you'd like to teach me how to kiss right?" Keith teased, wiggling his brows.

"Keep it PG, there are children here!" Matt said, shielding his and Mateo's eyes.

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Says the non-virgin, but alright."

"I am a virgin—"

"Oh, we know," Keith said, grinning. "We know."

"F—Fiddle sticks!" Matt shouted, refraining from using the fuck word around Mateo, "You'll pay for this later!"

Pidge grinned. "Whatever," she said, motioning for Keith to follow her, "I'm hungry and I could really go for some lunch right about now. Care to join me?"

"Let's all go out to eat something," Colleen suggested, clasping her hands together, "and while we're at it, we'll celebrate our graduates and the two new love birds that I am still crying over!"

Pidge shook her head. "Mom, don't plan the wedding yet. We still have to graduate college."

"Oh just you wait, honey. I have venue ideas, and flower arrangements planned too! I was thinking maybe some roses..."

Pidge watched her mother in amusement as they group walked towards the parking lot, Keith nudging her shoulder gently.

"Yeah?"

"I'm still planning on ditching the party later tonight," Keith whispered, "you know, just to end the night in a cliche like in the movies. Care to join me around eight? Lance and Hunk are tagging along too."

"I'm all in," Pidge said, grinning as they reached the car.

Today was going perfect so far. It felt as if finally, her life was how she wanted it to be. She didn't have to hide her relationship with the boy she had adored since forever, and she didn't have to worry about high school anymore. She was free to hold his hand and kiss him without worrying that high school would tear them apart, and she was grateful that her friends were being so supportive.

Life was truly perfect now.

* * *

Pidge walked back into her room when they got back home after lunch, sighing contentedly as she toyed with her necklace that Keith had got her. Everyone else was setting up for the barbecue in the backward that would be their dinner, but she needed to get out of her gown first.

She hummed to herself as she took off her cap and gown, exposing her short lime green dress under it. She took a seat on her bed, kicking off her shoes, before something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. It was a gift wrapped in shiny wrapping paper, a letter attached to the top of it, the entire thing on the corner of her desk.

She curiously stood up, reaching over and pulling both the letter and gift off of the desk. She went for the gift first, the name at the top catching her eye.

_From, Lotor. To, Katie Holt._

Pidge lifted the lid off the gift once she managed to unwrap it, gasping as she saw what was on the inside. In it, there was a picture of her, the girls, and Lotor, posing ridiculously in front of the library in Lotor's home. She remembered this like it was yesterday.

It had been taken back before anything ever happened, back when she and Lotor were building up a genuine friendship before the whole prom disaster plan came into play. It was taken when she had first started coming over to help him with their English project, back in October, back when they were genuinely happy.

The picture was framed in a simple wooden picture frame, about the ideal size to sit on her desk alongside the others she had. She emitted a small sigh and a ghost of a smile appeared on her face as she set it next to the one she had of her and Keith at the age of thirteen.

Turning her attention to the envelope, she curiously tore open the seal. Inside, there was a simple folded up piece of paper that had Lotor's handwriting all over it. She pulled it out and unfolded it, starting to read it.

_Dear Katie,_

_If you're reading this now, it means that I'm out of Altea already. Don't worry, I'm not living in some garbage can in the middle of some city. I've found a way to live here without arousing suspicion as to who I am and why I'm here. I can't tell you where I am for fear that the letter never gets to you, but I promise you that I am not living on a city bench._

_My apologies for not telling you when I was leaving. I asked Acxa to leave this in your room the day of graduation, because I knew you'd be furious with me for not showing up to something I promised I would show up for. I'm sorry for breaking another promise, but I'm quite notorious for doing so._

_Acxa, Ezor, Zethrid and Narti are going to come live with me over the summer. If they said their goodbyes to you after graduation, that's the last you'll ever see of them. Life is too dangerous for us in Altea now, and I must protect my friends, even if that means leaving the state and assuming a new identity. It's rather fascinating, really. I'm going by the name Leonardo instead of Lotor, and no one suspects a thing. With a haircut, I think I'll fit in with the city life just fine._

_I'm sorry for the way I treated you these past couple of months. I have never been able to handle affection because I never received it, and although it seems pathetic, it's true. The way I treated you has no excuse, and I want to say that I'm so sorry for causing you so much trouble. There are some things that can't be fixed with a sorry though, I know, and if you don't accept my apology I don't blame you. I wouldn't forgive myself either._

_You were a fantastic friend and girlfriend, even if I couldn't see it. Keith should count himself lucky to have you, because a girl like you is hard to come across. Your passion and snarky personality are what make you you, and I want you to embrace it rather than to hide it. Show the world that you're fierce, and you'll conquer it piece by piece._

_I have to say goodbye now because I'm running out of space, but I assure you, the sun will shine on us again, Katie. We'll meet again in the future, and even if I don't know when that'll be, I promise you that I'll return one day. Maybe one day, I'll be changed and better. I wish you great success in life with your family and although I'm a tad jealous, I wish you success with Keith as well. Thank you for believing in me towards the end._

_Sincerely, Lotor._

_P.S – If Keith hasn't discovered that Krolia is his mother yet please tell the poor boy that she is his birth mother. It's getting frustrating seeing him act the way he does around her._

Pidge put the letter down on her lap, staring at the wall in deep thought.

Lotor was gone. Acxa was leaving her, Krolia, and Keith in exchange for protection with Lotor. It was just...a lot to process. Things were greatly changing, like Lance had said in his speech, and even though she didn't necessarily agree with them, she couldn't stop what was happening. It was just life.

What struck her the most was Lotor's apology. He had never said it outright, but he finally apologized for his actions. She sighed.

She could never fully forgive him, but she wasn't going to hate him forever. He had done so many good things for her and her loved ones that she couldn't bear to hate him. She would never be able to fully forgive him, but she was glad that he had taken his apology seriously. It took a real man to to apologize for his actions and acknowledge that they were wrong.

As Pidge faced inner turmoil over Lotor, Keith was mentally preparing himself for the talk between him and Krolia that he had avoided for almost two weeks now.

He quietly slipped into the Holt residence and walked slowly towards the guest room where he knew Krolia was staying in on the first floor. He stared at the door for what seemed like an eternity before finally forcing himself to knock on the door, his body immediately tensing up as he heard footsteps approach the door.

The door was opened by Krolia, who went wide eyed as she saw Keith standing in front of her.

"Keith?"

"We need to talk," Keith said, pushing past her into the room.

Krolia slightly gasped as Keith pushed his way into the room, grasping the doorknob and closing the door tightly behind her as Keith took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"What do you need to talk about with me?" Krolia asked, crossing her arms and arching a brow. "Last time I checked, you were hesitant to even be in the same room as me."

Keith sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I just...couldn't handle it, okay? You throwing everything on me and Acxa that day was just something that I couldn't handle."

"I didn't think you would have such a negative reaction," Krolia remarked, lowering her gaze. "It hurt, Keith. Do you not want me to be your mother, or do you not want to accept the facts?"

Keith shook his head. "That's not at all what I was thinking. Krolia, when you told me that you're my mom, I couldn't find a proper way to react. I didn't know whether to cry or laugh because I've spent a good portion of my life wondering who you were, and now that you were standing in front of me, it felt crazy."

"Krolia, I'm not upset that you're my mom. I'm upset that you left me when I was young, and I know you had a good reason, but shit like that doesn't heal quickly. Do you know how many years I thought you didn't want me? I grew up hearing tales from other kids on the block who were also adopted, and believed that you didn't care. That if you cared, you would've stayed," he mumbled, looking down at his hands.

Krolia's head snapped up, her brows furrowing. "Keith, none of that is true. I left you with your father because he promised that he could take care of you. It was hard for me to say goodbye, and I didn't want to, but I had to. I was young, and I didn't know how to handle things. I never wanted to leave you, but life forces us to do things that we wish we'd never have to go through."

Keith ran a hand through his hair, refusing to meet her gaze.

"I know. I had some time to think over it, and I think that I finally understand." He raised his head, looking up at her with a small smile.

"The first time I met you, I felt like there was some kind of connection. When you walked in and immediately started throwing questions my way after seeing me all bruised, it was weird. It was even more weird when you started to give me relationship advice not knowing anything about me, but after realizing that you were my mom, I finally figured out why I was naturally drawn out to a conversation with you." Keith sighed.

"All this time, you were just trying to be the mom you couldn't be without exposing yourself outright. I should've picked up on the signs, but I didn't. Ugh," he muttered, shaking his head, "I'm bad with emotions."

Krolia emitted a small sigh, finally making her way towards the boy and taking a seat next to him on the bed.

"You are," she said, chuckling slightly, "but so am I. I should've told you sooner, but I didn't. I'm so sorry for not being there before, but I promise you that things are going to change." She hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder. "I promise you that I'm going to try my hardest to be the mother I couldn't be for you."

She was taken by surprise when Keith wrapped his arms around her torso, hugging her and burying his head in her shoulder. As much as she was surprised, she also felt a strange feeling of warmth in her chest. Happiness, she guessed.

With that, she returned the hug, wrapping the boy in her arms and burrowing her head into his messy hair.

No words needed to be exchanged, but the forgiveness and acceptance of love could be felt in the two of them.

Holding Keith is her arms felt surreal. The last time she had held him, he couldn't even walk yet. Now he was here, eighteen and in her arms, finally hugging her back like she had yearned for him to do all those years back.

Her son was finally in her arms again, and she truly felt like she was finally at peace now.

* * *

Acxa stood in front of Pidge's room, bag slouched over her shoulder and a gift bag in her left hand. She was never good at goodbye's, but she had to make an effort now.

She hesitantly knocked on Pidge's bedroom door, closing her eyes and waiting for the girl to open it. She heard a small 'coming' from the inside before the door was flung open, Pidge standing in front of her in her five foot two glory.

Pidge's eyes widened as she spotted Acxa. "Acxa...I thought you—"

"Left?" Acxa shook her head. "I have to talk to Keith first. Krolia already knows, so I don't have to worry about her."

"Talk to me about what?" Keith asked suspiciously, eyeing his sibling up and down. "Why do you look like you're about to go on vacation?"

Pidge and Acxa exchanged a look before Acxa sighed, motioning for the boy to follow her inside Pidge's room.

"Come. I have to tell you something."

Keith curiously followed the two girls inside the room, Pidge slamming the door shut behind him as he walked in. Acxa made her way to the desk, taking a seat on the spinning chair while Pidge took a seat next to the window, Keith sitting on the edge of the small bed.

"So what do you have to say?" Keith asked, arching a brow. "You look more serious than usual."

Acxa took a deep breath, looking Keith straight in the eyes.

"Keith, I'm leaving Altea. For good."

Keith's small smile disappeared and was replaced by a frown, the boy looking at her like she was crazy.

"What? You can't just leave!"

"You can't tell me what to do," Acxa retorted, furrowing her brows. "Keith, staying here isn't the best choice right now. We're going to be hunted down by Zarkon's forces, and I don't know about you but I'd like to see my twentieth birthday. There's a risk staying here, and that's why I'm leaving tonight."

"What about Ezor and everyone else?"

"They're coming with me," Acxa replied. "We're going to be staying with Lotor until everything calms down."

"You can't just leave me!" Keith shouted, eyes wide, "We just found our mom, and we can finally bond with her! Be the family we couldn't be! Don't you want that?"

Acxa lowered her gaze. "Of course I do," she murmured, "but I've already made up my mind. Krolia is dropping me off at the airport with the others, and we're leaving tonight. There's no turning back now."

"So that's it? You're leaving me?" Keith asked in disbelief.

"Not forever," Acxa corrected, meeting his gaze. "We'll be back one day, but not now. Things are starting to heat up, and we don't want to be caught in the middle of it."

"Well if you're all leaving then I guess I'm going with you," Keith said, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not letting you go alone."

"Keith," Pidge started, eyes widening, "You can't—"

"She's right," Acxa said, shaking her head. "You belong here, with people who will support you. You have a future here and people to protect. You have to stay and protect your friends and family from any danger, something that I can't do. You have to stay."

She quickly turned her head away from his, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"I have to go now. The flight is at seven, and it's three already. We're burning daylight," she said, standing up and handing Keith a present. "Here. Take it, and don't make it weird."

As soon as Keith took the present off of her hands, Acxa lunged a him and wrapped her arms around him, Keith immediately letting go of the present and returning the hug.

"Stay safe," she whispered, ignoring the choking feeling in her throat, "and protect them with your life."

"I will," Keith promised.

Acxa gave him one final squeeze before letting go, wiping her eyes with her sleeve once more before sending him a small smile. She picked up her bag and turned towards the door, not looking back at the two as she took a deep breath, heading down the stairs.

"Krolia? Let's go."

Keith sat on the edge of Pidge's bed numbly, staring at his palms. There was absolute silence between the duo, the only sounds audible being the front door slamming shut and the laughter in the backyard.

Pidge tentatively stood up and walked towards the boy, placing a calming hand on his shoulder. "Hey," she said gently, "Are you...good?"

Keith sucked in a deep breath, closing his eyes.

"No," he replied quietly. "No, I'm not good. Pidge, my sister is leaving me. I found my mom, but at what cost? Losing my sibling? This isn't _fair_."

Pidge emitted a small sigh. "Of course it isn't fair, Keith. That's just how life is. It plays cruel tricks on you, especially ones you don't deserve. That doesn't mean you have to stay stuck on them forever, though. Acxa's gone, but Krolia and the rest of us aren't. Let Krolia stay in Acxa's place until she gets back."

"What if she forgets me?"

"No one can forget a sibling," Pidge soothed, rubbing his back gently. "Remember when Shiro was unconscious for almost a month after his accident? You never forgot him, even though he wasn't by your side everyday. Acxa isn't going to forget you, so don't mope about it. She'll be back soon, and then you two will have a lot to catch up on."

Keith sighed. "I guess you're right." He lowered his head. "I'm going to miss her, though."

"I will too," Pidge said. "Trust me, there is going to be a void, but it's nothing you can't overcome. You'll be fine."

Keith chuckled lightly. "Wow, look at us. You're comforting me here while we should be ready to go help or something."

"Didn't we plan on going to eat somewhere away from everyone else?" Pidge asked, arching a brow, "You know, like two months ago or something?"

Keith shrugged. "I have a better idea," he said, a small smirk tugging at the edges of his lips, "but I can't tell you yet. Do you trust me?"

"I guess," Pidge replied, eyeing him warily. "If you pull some weird bullshit I'm going to dump your ass so quick that you won't even have a chance to blink."

"Nah, you wouldn't do that," Keith replied coyly, "I know you. I know your weaknesses, and I know what you love," he said, leaning into her face.

Pidge gulped, a blush rising to her face. "Y-you do?" She stuttered, face red.

"Yep," Keith replied, still leaning in, "and I know your greatest weakness is..."

"Hm?"

"...losing and loving me," he said before smirking and pulling himself back, tapping her nose playfully. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, even though they probably already know," he teased.

Pidge's eyes snapped open as she realized Keith was sitting back up and not in front of her face, her blush coming on at full force.

"That's not fair!"

Keith shrugged. "Life isn't fair." He stood up, taking her hand and pulling her up with him, the duo walking towards the door, "but don't worry, I'll make it up to you later. Although, I think we should really head down to the party before they think we're doing something unholy or something."

Pidge snorted. "Who's idea was it to kiss me in front of everyone? You, that's who. Don't complain about lack of privacy now. You're dating a Holt, and my family adores you."

"They're going to be bugging me for years, aren't they?"

Pidge grinned. "Welcome to the family."

She pulled her bedroom door open, only to have Matt and Shiro fall onto the floor, Shiro falling on top of Matt's spine. Both boys groaned and rubbed their heads, slowly raising their necks up to look at their two younger siblings, who were towering over them at the moment with very pissed off expressions.

"What the hell are you doing?" Pidge asked indignantly. 

"Were you spying on us?" Keith asked next, frowning. 

"No, we were obviously in a very heated making out session—of course we were spying on you!" Matt screeched, ignoring Shiro's yelp as he pushed the bulkier boy off of him. "You can't just disappear for like an hour alone and expect us to be okay with that!"

"You've never done that before," Keith commented, his frown persisting. "Why the sudden change?"

"Because you two are dating now," Shiro said gruffly, shoving Matt as he stood up. "There's something called hormones that are raging during your first day of dating—"

"Okay stop stop!" Keith said, throwing his hands out in front of him, "I do not need a second lesson on hormones and being horny!"

"Then keep your hands to yourself," Matt said with an edge, eyeing Keith up and down. "Hey, what were you two doing in there for so long, anyways?"

"Getting laid, obviously," Shiro responded, eyeing his brother. "Keith, I am so disappointed."

"Oh for the love of—I did not get laid and dont have a desire to do so!" Keith practically screeched, his face red. "Get your heads out of the gutter! Nothing has changed!"

"Just because we started dating doesn't mean that we're going to start doing the dirty shit right away," Pidge said, rolling her eyes. "We have boundaries, and we're not going to pass those right now, so fuck off and let me and my friend interact in peace because if you don't I'm going to smack the shit out of you!"

Matt and Shiro both stared at her wide eyed, jaws slightly dropping.

"But—!"

"What are you two doing?" Allura asked from the top of the stairwell, eyeing her husband up and down. "And why aren't Pidge and Keith downstairs yet? We sent you to get them like thirty minutes ago! Ugh! Men are useless!" She grouched, pushing her way past them and pulling both Pidge and Keith out of the room and down the stairs with her.

Matt shook his head in disbelief. "Did Allura just interrupt our interrogation?"

"Did my wife seriously just drag off my laid brother without letting me finish talking to him?" Shiro asked in disbelief.

"For the last time, I am a virgin!" Keith screeched from the first floor.

Matt burst out laughing, a wide grin etching itself into his face. "Yes! Revenge, you piece of shit!"

Keith rolled his eyes from his position next Pidge on the back porch, shutting the door closed behind him and leaving his brother inside with the other Holt sibling. 

Allura rolled her eyes. "Sorry about Shiro. He's just really paranoid about you two doing...well, you know what," she said, shaking her head. "I told him to give you two privacy, but boys will be boys and they'll always annoy younger siblings when they're in a relationship. Trust me, I used to do it all the time."

"You had a sibling?" Pidge asked, quirking a brow. 

"No," Allura replied, a fond smile taking over her features, "It was an old childhood friend." She shook her head, smiling sadly. "Enough about me! We need to fix up the rest of the tables and chairs for the party tonight. Oh, and Colleen said we could open the pool, if you wanted to play in it or something."

Keith grinned. "Nice."

"What are you two doing here and being unproductive?" Hunk's mom scolded, crossing her arms and standing in front of Pidge and Keith. "It's time to start fixing the yard up! Come on! A party won't throw itself!"

Pidge and Keith both exchanged a smile before nodding, Pidge taking off towards the pool and Keith making a beeline for the grill. Allura smiled fondly as she looked after the two, watching Lance join Pidge and Hunk pass over the plate of uncooked steak to Keith at the grill. 

"You know they aren't going to stay for the party, right?" Shiro asked in amusement from behind Allura, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

"I know, but they still have to help set up, regardless if they stay or not," Allura responded, a content smile on her face as wrapped her left arm around Shiro's torso. "Do you think they'll go to the lake like we did after prom?"

"If they do, then they'll be keeping tradition," Shiro said with a smile. "Want to bet that one of them accidentally drowns?"

"Don't call your brother out like this," Allura said, shaking her head. "If he drowns, his knight in shining armor will save him, and by that I mean Pidge, of course."

"You mean like our DnD campaign last year?"

"Exactly like that," she said, tapping his nose lightly with a finger. "Oh, and before I forget, don't bother Keith too much about Pidge. They have a good handle on their relationship, so maybe lay back on the teasing, okay? That goes for you too, Matt," Allura said, rolling her eyes.

Matt groaned from his position behind her, stepping in front of the couple with a childish pout. "How'd you even know I was there?"

"You're superglued to Shiro. If he's here, you're here," Allura responded, shrugging. "Oh, and I heard you open the door. You are not a stealth master, Matt. Maybe you should work on that instead of spying on your sister," Allura said in a warning tone, eying Matt warily.

Matt gasped indignantly. "I would never do such a thing!"

"Mhm, alright." Allura shook her head. "Matt, please leg them enjoy this. They waited so long for this, and it's only fair to let them have their time as a couple in peace. You have the rest of your life to tease them."

Matt emitted a small sigh, looking at his sister fondly from afar. "I know. I'm just so happy that I don't know how to handle the news. They're finally together like we all knew would happen, and it's just so...exciting! You know what I mean?"

Shiro nodded. "Yeah, I do. Keith has never looked this happy or been so affectionate. Pidge really is bringing out the lovey dovey side of him," he commented, watching Keith send the girl a wink as he caught her watching him cook the steak on the grill. Hunk then started yelling at him exasperatedly, Keith sheepishly returning his gaze to the the grill. 

Shiro smiled. "See what I mean?"

Allura sighed dreamily. "Remember when we were like that? It feels like it was so many years ago..."

"And now you two are married and are gonna have a kid, too," Matt commented, smiling. "Hard to think that almost six years ago, we were still in high school. Man, I feel old," he said, chuckling.

"Who knows?" Shiro said, wrapping an arm around both his best friend and spouse, "maybe Keith and Pidge end up like us one day."

"Maybe, but right now, they're just a couple of kids," Matt commented, "and I think I'd prefer to see them this way rather than officially becoming adults and entering hell—I mean, adult hood."

Shiro snorted. "A couple of kids. That's a new one."

"What?"

Allura chuckled. "Why don't you two help Hunk instead of bickering? You're bound to be more productive that way," she said, shooing the two men away. "Go on! Shoo!" She laughed as they sauntered off, still talking to each other about whether or not Pidge and Keith were really "just a couple of kids".

Allura smiled fondly as she watched Pidge, Keith, and Lance pull Hunk towards the pool and leave Shiro and Matt alone at the grill. 

Lance and Pidge were trying to encourage him to get into the pool, Hunk refusing and Keith slightly pushing on the older boy's back to push him into the pool. Pidge laughed as Keith fell onto the ground, Lance and Hunk laughing along as they watched Pidge start dragging Keith towards the pool. 

Allura felt a pang of sadness hit her. They were growing up so fast, and even though life had been difficult for them, they had still managed to keep smiles on their faces and keep their spirits up. It felt like a chapter in their life was ending; the official end to their limited days as children. They were no longer "just kids"; they were rapidly changing into adults.

She sniffled. It felt like yesterday that they had been planning on pranking Coran during school spirit week back during sophomore year. They weren't kids, but they weren't adults yet either. They were something special, but oh how she was going to miss their pranks and time as a group of carefree teens. 

She wiped a tear from her eye, smiling through the sudden onslaught of tears.

She was going to miss them when they went off to Altea University full time.

* * *

_"Tell me why we're sneaking out again," nine year old Pidge harrumphed, pouting childishly. "I wanted to play in the pool!"_

_"Shh!" A nine year old Keith replied, putting a finger up to his mouth, "Shut up! I'm gonna show you something cool," he said, grinning._

_"It better be cool," she retorted, crossing her arms. Her annoyance was forgotten, however, as Keith opened his palms after swatting at the air continuously to reveal a lightning bug in his palms, glowing rapidly._

_"Woah," she breathed out, "It's so cool!"_

_"Told you it'd be cool," Keith coyly replied. His smile grew as the lighting bug continued to glow, showing it closer into Pidge's face. "Make a wish!"_

_Pidge hummed. "Hm," she said, scrunching her face up in thought before grinning. "I've got it!" She took the lightning bug from Keith's hands, holding it up in the air and letting it go._

_"I wish that we'll always be neighbors and best friends for life and that we'll never have to say goodbye," she whispered, watching the lightning bug fly off._

Pidge harrumphed in annoyance as she stepped over the piles of dirt around the edge of the lake, kicking the mounds with her foot if she made contact with them. Keith laughed at her, kicking off his sneakers and leaving them on a small rock, Lance and Hunk doing the same.

It was nine at night and instead of making a quick run to the supermarket to buy ice cream like they had promised, the four graduates were at the lake, getting ready to drench themselves in the water like their siblings had done before them during prom.

"Pidge, look!" Keith said, pointing at a bush that was a couple of feet away from the group.

"Are you seeing things? Because I don't see shit," Lance replied, arching a brow.

Hunk nodded in agreement. "Keith, I think you need glasses."

Pidge's eyes widened as she spotted the fireflies around the bushes, a huge smiling taking over her small frown.

"It's a bunch of fireflies!" She said excitedly. "Holy shit, they still exist in Altea? I thought they all migrated a few years ago for good!"

"They're still here, apparently," Lance said, arching a brow. "What's so special about them?"

"Make a wish, and it'll come true," Pidge said, smiling. "It works."

"Pfft, sure," Lance scoffed, grinning. "I think you've watched Princess and the Frog a little too much, Pidge."

"Oh fuck off," she said, laughing and grabbing Keith's arm, pulling him towards the docks with her. "Keith, we've gotta get there before they do! Hurry up you slow piece of shit!"

_"Hurry up slow-poke!" Eleven year old Keith scolded Pidge, who was panting for air as they played tag in the neighborhood park, "I'm not waiting for you to catch up!"_

_"Eat my dust," the ten year old girl replied, rubbing her arms together, "It's too cold for this!"_

_"Slowpokeee," Keith teased, running ahead of her despite her cries for him to come back to her._

_"Keith? Keith! That's not fair!"_

Pidge and Keith made it first to the dock, Lance and Hunk following closely behind. The moon reflected in the lake looked so large, the tides calm and the water splashing gently against the dock. The cool July night air against her cheeks felt so beautiful, and she laughed.

Keith looked at her like she was crazy. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she replied without hesitation, intertwining their fingers. "I've never been better in my life."

"You two are horrible!" Hunk said, tasing for air as he came to a stop next the two.

Lance shook his head. "Are you guys really that eager to jump in the lake?"

"It's tradition, Lance," Pidge scolded. "We're doing it now because we couldn't do it after prom, and I am excited so don't spoil this for me you ass!"

"Fine," Lance relented, extending a hand towards her. "On the count of three?"

Pidge looked down at his hand before taking a hold of it, Lance extending his hand towards Hunk, the boy taking a hold of his best friend's hand. They group of four graduates looked at the lake, squeezing each other's hand's tightly.

"One," Lance counted,

"I hate boys," a thirteen year old Pidge groaned, slamming her face into her pillow.

_"The guy was stupid anyways," Keith remarked, looking at his best friend with a frown. "You'll find a better guy who will actually like you for your heart and not your homework."_

_"Promise me that you'll never be like one of those boys," she said, looking up at Keith miserably. "Please."_

_Keith grinned. "Scouts honor."_

"Two," Lance counted,

_"Do you think we'll still be best friends when we're eighty?" A fifteen year old Keith asked, interrupting the girl's blabbering about some teacher that had given her an unfair grade._

_"Obviously," she replied in a heartbeat. "Why wouldn't we? I'm never letting you out of my sight, you idiot. You and me, we're superglued to one another. I'm not living without you in the future, thats for sure," she said chuckling._

_"That's what I was hoping you'd say," Keith said dreamily, a slight blush taking over his features as he watched his neighbor continue to babble on about school._

"Three!"

 _"You want to know what the fuck is going on? Fine! I'm jealous as hell because you're acting like you love him and I don't like it!" An eighteen year old Keith shouted._

_"I told you, I don't love him, and if I did, you would have to deal with it!" An eighteen year old Pidge screamed frustratedly_. 

_"I can't deal with it!"_

_"Why the hell not?!"_

_"I just can't!"_

_"Tell me why!"_

_"Because I fucking love you and don't know how to deal with it!" Keith yelled._

"Jump!" Lance screeched, launching himself into the air along with the others, all of them yelling joyfully.

_Keith groaned. "Great. More boring conversations. Please kill me already."_

_"Can't do that. I love you too much," she replied._

_"Aw," Keith teased, leaning down in an attempt to press a kiss to her cheek, "that's adorable."_

They let out screeches as they plunged into the water, immediately disturbing the once calm water. The reflection of the moon became distorted, and the four immediately rose to the surface, laughing wildly without a care in the world.

Pidge laughed harder when Keith shook his head in an attempt to rid his hair the water, his bangs falling into his eyes as if it were some type of dog hair.

"Keith looks like a dog!" Lance joked, cackling. 

"That's sick, dog," Pidge and Hunk said in unison, the two looking at each other before falling into a new fit of laughter.

Keith chuckled in amusement, shaking his head even more wildly, the water landing on everyone else in the water with him. 

"Keith, stop!" Pidge grinned, launching herself in his direction, sending a splash of water into his face. Keith screeched, doing the same thing to her. Lance and Hunk both looked at each other before splashing the couple, starting a water war at nine in the night as if it were ten in the morning, without a care in the world if they would wake up with a cold in the morning.

Pidge stopped splashing Keith and instead launched herself into his arms, the boy immediately wrapping her tightly in a hug as they watched Hunk and Lance race across one side of the wide dock to the other. 

"You are so short," Keith teased, smiling as he saw a flicker annoyance pass over Pidge's face. "What? It's true!"

"Not shorter than my patience with you," she replied, chuckling slightly. "How many more times are you going to remind me that I'm short?"

"As many times as I can," Keith said, pressing a kiss on her cheek.

Pidge grinned. "You sap," she said fondly, staring at him with an adoring smile.

Suddenly, time seemed to stop. There they were, playful young teens in a lake at nine in the night, not giving a single fuck if they would be scolded for it later on. More importantly, she was here with not only her best friends, but also Keith, her neighbor, best friend, and best boyfriend. 

A sudden sadness dawned on her as she realized that just as quickly as this moment came, it would quickly leave. Within a few years, they would be parents and actual adults with adult problems. Time wouldn't stop for them; it never stopped and never let you enjoy things more than once. However, she would't let that stop her. She was finally happy and free from the pain that she had gone through, and free from the tears she had shed. It was as if the lake water had washed away her fears and pain.

She ran a hand through Keith's hair, the boy giving her a lopsided smile.

Keith. She was so grateful to have met him. Life had thrown so much at their relationship, but they had stuck by each other's sides since first grade, and they had never allowed their relationship to be severed by anyone. Sure, there were a few large bumps, but in the end, they overcame it like the power couple they were.

Maybe Mateo was right. Maybe they were soulmates.

Keith. She chuckled to herself, looking into his deep, blueish-purple eyes. Who was Keith?

He was the boy next door, the one she could confide in for anything at any given moment. He was her best friend, and the one who had stuck by her side through troubling times. He was the boy who helped her through her pain regardless if he wasn't feeling okay, and the one who always put everyone else above his personal needs. He was selfless, stubborn, brash, but he was also sweet, cocky, and lovable. He was an odd mix, but god, how she adored him.

Keith was...special. It had taken her eighteen years to figure him out, but she finally knew he was. Keith was Keith; her neighbor, best friend, and boyfriend, and she wouldn't have it be any other way. 

Keith chuckled lightly. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Pidge shook her head, grinning. "Because you're a jackass."

_"Do you think our firefly wish is going to come true?" Nine year old Pidge asked, watching the lightning bug fly away._

_"It better," Keith said stubbornly, "because I want it to be true. You're my best friend, even if you're annoying all the time."_

_"Look who's talking," she replied, narrowing her eyes before letting out a small laugh. "But really, I hope we're best friends for life."_

_Keith let a smile appear on his face, staring at the girl fondly. "Me too," he admitted. "Me too."_

Pidge looked down at Keith with a loving expression, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss on his lips. Keith immediately sank into the kiss, closing his eyes and tilting his head to allow her to kiss him properly. Pidge closed her eyes, sighing dreamily as Lance and Hunk made whistle calls at them, Lance taking what seemed like a hundred pictures of the two. 

"Thank god for waterproof cases!"

Life was something crazy, Pidge decided as she allowed herself to fall deeper into the kiss. One moment they were kids chasing fireflies, and the next, they were teenagers making out in the middle of a lake at nine in the night. She never would have expected her senior year to end like this, but then again, she wasn't complaining.

She finally had all that she ever wanted: Keith and peace. Life was ultimately good, despite the shit it loved throw at them. Without all the fighting and tears, they wouldn't be where they were now. They were teens, finally graduated and ready to tackle the bullshit that life would throw their way in the future.

Deep down though, she knew that they were just a couple of kids in a teenage body, ready to have a pillow fight at any given moment. In the end, she and Keith were just two kids with curious hearts, not afraid to break anymore. They were just two neighbors who had found love through pain and suffering, he being the boy next door and she being the girl next door, the two finding love in each other in the most weird way possible.

But that was okay, because she wouldn't have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. After almost a year, the story is finally completed. The amount of support that I got for this story was overwhelming, and I'm forever grateful for all of your comments and support for my wacky story that has made me cry on a daily basis. It may be the end to this chapter of the story, but it isn't necessarily the end. Yes, this story is done, but I made plans ahead of time to start a sequel. I'm not going to spoil the plot, but it's going to be more heart wrenching than this one, and that's all I'm going to say. Anyways, I want to say thank you again to all of you who have kept up with this story since the beginning. Y'all are truly a blessing, and thank you for those who were always excited when I updated. Thank you for following this story, and I'll see y'all soon. I love you guys. <3


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